Protein Mixture Segregation at Coffee-Ring: Real-Time Imaging of Protein Ring Precipitation by FTIR Spectromicroscopy.

PubMed

Choi, Sun; Birarda, Giovanni

2017-08-03

During natural drying process, all solutions and suspensions tend to form the so-called "coffee-ring" deposits. This phenomenon, by far, has been interpreted by the hydrodynamics of evaporating fluids. However, in this study, by applying Fourier transform infrared imaging (FTIRI), it is possible to observe the segregation and separation of a protein mixture at the "ring", hence we suggest a new way to interpret "coffee-ring effect" of solutions. The results explore the dynamic process that leads to the ring formation in case of model plasma proteins, such as BGG (bovine γ globulin), BSA (bovine serum albumin), and Hfib (human fibrinogen), and also report fascinating discovery of the segregation at the ring deposits of two model proteins BGG and BSA, which can be explained by an energy kinetic model, only. The investigation suggests that the coffee-ring effect of solute in an evaporating solution drop is driven by an energy gradient created from change of particle-water-air interfacial energy configuration.

Lignin Sulfonation and SO2 Addition Enhance the Hydrolyzability of Deacetylated and Then Steam-Pretreated Poplar with Reduced Inhibitor Formation.

PubMed

Tang, Yong; Dou, Xiaoli; Hu, Jinguang; Jiang, Jianxin; Saddler, Jack N

2018-01-01

The merit of deacetylation of corn stover prior to pretreatment is decreasing the formation of inhibitors and improving enzyme hydrolysis, proved in dilute acid pretreatment. However, few studies are done on how deacetylation would affect bioconversion process containing steam explosion. In this study, the effect of deacetylation on steam explosion was conducted using poplar as substrate. About 57 to 90% of acetyl group in poplar, depending on alkaline types and concentration, was removed by dilute alkaline deacetylation in 6 h. Deacetylation eliminated over 85% of inhibitor formation during downstream steam explosion. However, deacetylation prior to steam explosion decreased the dissolution of hemicellulose, thus reducing the cellulose accessibility of pretreated poplar, finally resulting in 5-20% decrease in glucose yield and 20-35% decrease in xylose yield. The addition of 5% SO 2 during steam explosion significantly improved the hydrolysis of deacetylated and pretreated poplar without significantly increasing the concentration of inhibitors. Incorporating 45 mmol/kg sulfoacid group in lignin fraction of deacetylated and then pretreated poplar dramatically improved the xylose yield to about 100% and increased the glucose yield by 30%.

Difference between ²JC2H3 and ²JC3H2 spin-spin couplings in heterocyclic five- and six-membered rings as a probe for studying σ-ring currents: a quantum chemical analysis.

PubMed

Contreras, Rubén H; dos Santos, Francisco P; Ducati, Lucas C; Tormena, Cláudio F

2010-12-01

Adequate analyses of canonical molecular orbitals (CMOs) can provide rather detailed information on the importance of different σ-Fermi contact (FC) coupling pathways (FC term transmitted through the σ-skeleton). Knowledge of the spatial distribution of CMOs is obtained by expanding them in terms of natural bond orbitals (NBOs). Their relative importance for transmitting the σ-FC contribution to a given spin-spin coupling constants (SSCCs) is estimated by resorting to the expression of the FC term given by the polarisation propagator formalism. In this way, it is possible to classify the effects affecting such couplings in two different ways: delocalisation interactions taking place in the neighbourhood of the coupling nuclei and 'round the ring' effects. The latter, associated with σ-ring currents, are observed to yield significant differences between the FC terms of (2)J(C2H3) and (2)J(C3H2) SSCCs which, consequently, are taken as probes to gauge the differences in σ-ring currents for the five-membered rings (furan, thiophene, selenophene and pyrrol) and also for the six-membered rings (benzene, pyridine, protonated pyridine and N-oxide pyridine) used in the present study. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

2D Bayesian automated tilted-ring fitting of disc galaxies in large H I galaxy surveys: 2DBAT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Se-Heon; Staveley-Smith, Lister; Spekkens, Kristine; Kamphuis, Peter; Koribalski, Bärbel S.

2018-01-01

We present a novel algorithm based on a Bayesian method for 2D tilted-ring analysis of disc galaxy velocity fields. Compared to the conventional algorithms based on a chi-squared minimization procedure, this new Bayesian-based algorithm suffers less from local minima of the model parameters even with highly multimodal posterior distributions. Moreover, the Bayesian analysis, implemented via Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling, only requires broad ranges of posterior distributions of the parameters, which makes the fitting procedure fully automated. This feature will be essential when performing kinematic analysis on the large number of resolved galaxies expected to be detected in neutral hydrogen (H I) surveys with the Square Kilometre Array and its pathfinders. The so-called 2D Bayesian Automated Tilted-ring fitter (2DBAT) implements Bayesian fits of 2D tilted-ring models in order to derive rotation curves of galaxies. We explore 2DBAT performance on (a) artificial H I data cubes built based on representative rotation curves of intermediate-mass and massive spiral galaxies, and (b) Australia Telescope Compact Array H I data from the Local Volume H I Survey. We find that 2DBAT works best for well-resolved galaxies with intermediate inclinations (20° < i < 70°), complementing 3D techniques better suited to modelling inclined galaxies.

CTLs, a new class of RING-H2 ubiquitin ligases uncovered by YEELL, a motif close to the RING domain that is present across eukaryotes.

PubMed

Jiménez-López, Domingo; Aguilar-Henonin, Laura; González-Prieto, Juan Manuel; Aguilar-Hernández, Victor; Guzmán, Plinio

2018-01-01

RING ubiquitin E3 ligases enclose a RING domain for ubiquitin ligase activity and associated domains and/or conserved motifs outside the RING domain that collectively facilitate their classification and usually reveal some of key information related to mechanism of action. Here we describe a new family of E3 ligases that encodes a RING-H2 domain related in sequence to the ATL and BTL RING-H2 domains. This family, named CTL, encodes a motif designed as YEELL that expands 21 amino acids next to the RING-H2 domain that is present across most eukaryotic lineages. E3 ubiquitin ligase BIG BROTHER is a plant CTL that regulates organ size, and SUMO-targeted ubiquitin E3 ligase RNF111/ARKADIA is a vertebrate CTL. Basal animal and vertebrate, as well as fungi species, encode a single CTL gene that constraints the number of paralogs observed in vertebrates. Conversely, as previously described in ATL and BTL families in plants, CTL genes range from a single copy in green algae and 3 to 5 copies in basal species to 9 to 35 copies in angiosperms. Our analysis describes key structural features of a novel family of E3 ubiquitin ligases as an integral component of the set of core eukaryotic genes.

CTLs, a new class of RING-H2 ubiquitin ligases uncovered by YEELL, a motif close to the RING domain that is present across eukaryotes

PubMed Central

Jiménez-López, Domingo; Aguilar-Henonin, Laura; González-Prieto, Juan Manuel; Aguilar-Hernández, Victor

2018-01-01

RING ubiquitin E3 ligases enclose a RING domain for ubiquitin ligase activity and associated domains and/or conserved motifs outside the RING domain that collectively facilitate their classification and usually reveal some of key information related to mechanism of action. Here we describe a new family of E3 ligases that encodes a RING-H2 domain related in sequence to the ATL and BTL RING-H2 domains. This family, named CTL, encodes a motif designed as YEELL that expands 21 amino acids next to the RING-H2 domain that is present across most eukaryotic lineages. E3 ubiquitin ligase BIG BROTHER is a plant CTL that regulates organ size, and SUMO-targeted ubiquitin E3 ligase RNF111/ARKADIA is a vertebrate CTL. Basal animal and vertebrate, as well as fungi species, encode a single CTL gene that constraints the number of paralogs observed in vertebrates. Conversely, as previously described in ATL and BTL families in plants, CTL genes range from a single copy in green algae and 3 to 5 copies in basal species to 9 to 35 copies in angiosperms. Our analysis describes key structural features of a novel family of E3 ubiquitin ligases as an integral component of the set of core eukaryotic genes. PMID:29324855

Identification of a novel hydroxylated metabolite of 2,2′,3,5′,6-pentachlorobiphenyl formed in whole poplar plants

PubMed Central

Ma, Cunxian; Zhai, Guangshu; Wu, Huimin; Kania-Korwel, Izabela; Lehmler, Hans-Joachim; Schnoor, Jerald L

2015-01-01

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of persistent organic pollutants consisting of 209 congeners. Oxidation of several PCB congeners to hydroxylated PCBs (OH-PCBs) in whole poplar plants has been reported before. Moreover, 2,2′,3,5′,6-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB95), as a chiral congener, has been previously shown to be atropselectively taken up and transformed in whole poplar plants. The objective of this study was to determine if PCB95 is atropselectively metabolized to OH-PCBs in whole poplar plants. Two hydroxylated PCB95s were detected by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in the roots of whole poplar plants exposed to racemic PCB95 for 30 days. The major metabolite was confirmed to be 4′-hydroxy-2,2′,3,5′,6-pentachlorobiphenyl (4′-OH-PCB95) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) using an authentic reference standard. Enantioselective analysis showed that 4′-OH-PCB95 was formed atropselectively, with the atropisomer eluting second on the Nucleodex β-PM column (E2-4′-OH-PCB95) being slightly more abundant in the roots of whole poplar plants. Therefore, PCB95 can at least be metabolized into 4′-OH-PCB95 and another unknown hydroxylated PCB95 (as a minor metabolite) in whole poplar plants. Both atropisomers of 4′-OH-PCB95 are formed, but E2-4′-OH-PCB95 has greater atropisomeric enrichment in the roots of whole poplar plants. A comparison with mammalian biotransformation studies indicates a distinctively different metabolite profile of OH-PCB95 metabolites in whole poplar plants. Our observations suggest that biotransformation of chiral PCBs to OH-PCBs by plants may represent an important source of enantiomerically enriched OH-PCBs in the environment. PMID:26676542

Protein-Protein Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Analysis of Nucleosome Core Particles Containing H2A and H2A.Z

PubMed Central

Hoch, Duane A.; Stratton, Jessica J.; Gloss, Lisa M.

2007-01-01

A protein-protein Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) system, employing probes at multiple positions, was designed to specifically monitor the dissociation of the H2A-H2B dimer from the nucleosome core particle (NCP). Tryptophan donors and Cys-AEDANS acceptors were chosen because, in comparison to fluorophores used in previous NCP FRET studies, they: 1) are smaller and less hydrophobic which should minimize perturbations of histone and NCP structure; and 2) have an R0 of 20 Å, which is much less than the dimensions of the NCP (~50 Å width and ~100 Å diameter). CD and FL equilibrium protein unfolding titrations indicate that the donor and acceptor moieties have minimal effects on the stability of the H2A-H2B dimer and (H3-H4)2 tetramer. NCPs containing the various FRET pairs were reconstituted with the 601 artificial positioning DNA sequence. Equilibrium NaCl-induced dissociation of the modified NCPs showed that the 601 sequence stabilized the NCP to dimer dissociation as compared to previous studies using weaker positioning sequences. This finding implies a significant role for the H2A-H2B dimers in determining the DNA sequence dependence of NCP stability. The free energy of dissociation determined from reversible and well-defined sigmoidal transitions revealed two distinct phases reflecting the dissociation of each H2A-H2B dimer, confirming cooperativity in dimer dissociation. While cooperativity in the association/dissociation of the H2A-H2B dimers has been suggested previously, these data allow its quantitative description. The protein-protein FRET system was then used to study the effects of the histone variant H2A.Z on NCP stability; previous studies have reported both destabilizing and stabilizing effects. Comparison of the H2A and H2A.Z FRET NCP dissociation transitions suggest a slight increase in stability but a significant increase in cooperativity for dimer dissociation from H2A.Z NCPs. Thus, the utility of this protein-protein FRET system to

A C2HC zinc finger is essential for the RING-E2 interaction of the ubiquitin ligase RNF125

PubMed Central

Bijlmakers, Marie-José; Teixeira, João M. C.; Boer, Roeland; Mayzel, Maxim; Puig-Sàrries, Pilar; Karlsson, Göran; Coll, Miquel; Pons, Miquel; Crosas, Bernat

2016-01-01

The activity of RING ubiquitin ligases (E3s) depends on an interaction between the RING domain and ubiquitin conjugating enzymes (E2), but posttranslational events or additional structural elements, yet largely undefined, are frequently required to enhance or regulate activity. Here, we show for the ubiquitin ligase RNF125 that, in addition to the RING domain, a C2HC Zn finger (ZnF) is crucial for activity, and a short linker sequence (Li2120-128) enhances activity. The contribution of these regions was first shown with truncated proteins, and the essential role of the ZnF was confirmed with mutations at the Zn chelating Cys residues. Using NMR, we established that the C2HC ZnF/Li2120-128 region is crucial for binding of the RING domain to the E2 UbcH5a. The partial X-ray structure of RNF125 revealed the presence of extensive intramolecular interactions between the RING and C2HC ZnF. A mutation at one of the contact residues in the C2HC ZnF, a highly conserved M112, resulted in the loss of ubiquitin ligase activity. Thus, we identified the structural basis for an essential role of the C2HC ZnF and conclude that this domain stabilizes the RING domain, and is therefore required for binding of RNF125 to an E2. PMID:27411375

Towards a map of the Populus biomass protein-protein interaction network

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beers, Eric; Brunner, Amy; Helm, Richard

Biofuels can be produced from a variety of plant feedstocks. The value of a particular feedstock for biofuels production depends in part on the degree of difficulty associated with the extraction of fermentable sugars from the plant biomass. The wood of trees is potentially a rich source fermentable sugars. However, the sugars in wood exist in a tightly cross-linked matrix of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, making them largely recalcitrant to release and fermentation for biofuels production. Before breeders and genetic engineers can effectively develop plants with reduced recalcitrance to fermentation, it is necessary to gain a better understanding of themore » fundamental biology of the mechanisms responsible for wood formation. Regulatory, structural, and enzymatic proteins are required for the complicated process of wood formation. To function properly, proteins must interact with other proteins. Yet, very few of the protein-protein interactions necessary for wood formation are known. The main objectives of this project were to 1) identify new protein-protein interactions relevant to wood formation, and 2) perform in-depth characterizations of selected protein-protein interactions. To identify relevant protein-protein interactions, we cloned a set of approximately 400 genes that were highly expressed in the wood-forming tissue (known as secondary xylem) of poplar (Populus trichocarpa). We tested whether the proteins encoded by these biomass genes interacted with each other in a binary matrix design using the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) method for protein-protein interaction discovery. We also tested a subset of the 400 biomass proteins for interactions with all proteins present in wood-forming tissue of poplar in a biomass library screen design using Y2H. Together, these two Y2H screens yielded over 270 interactions involving over 75 biomass proteins. For the second main objective we selected several interacting pairs or groups of interacting proteins for in

Pretreatment of corn stover and hybrid poplar by sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide.

PubMed

Gupta, Rajesh; Lee, Y Y

2010-01-01

Sodium hydroxide and its derivatives are used as pulping reagents, wherein the spent NaOH is recovered in salt form and reused. In this study, use of low concentration NaOH (1-5%) in pretreatment of corn stover and hybrid poplar was investigated. It was done with the understanding that NaOH can be recovered. One of the main objectives in this study is to explore the potential of H(2)O(2) with NaOH for pretreatment of high lignin substrate such as hybrid poplar. Pretreatment time has not been optimized in this study but held constant at 24 h. Corn stover, after treatment with NaOH under moderate conditions, attains near quantitative glucan digestibility. On the other hand, hybrid poplar requires treatment at higher temperature and NaOH concentration to attain acceptable level of digestibility. Supplementation of hydrogen peroxide in the pretreatment significantly raises delignification and digestibility of hybrid poplar. It was also helpful in retaining the carbohydrates in the treated solids. Retention of hemicellulose after pretreatment provides a significant economic benefit as it eliminates the need for detoxifying hemicellulose sugars. As the residual xylan remaining after pretreatment is an impediment to enzymatic digestion of glucan, supplementation of xylanase has significantly increased the digestibility of glucan as well as xylan of the treated hybrid poplar. (c) 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers

Effects of variation in background mixing ratios of N2, O2, and Ar on the measurement of δ18O-H2O and δ2H-H2O values by cavity ring-down spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Jennifer E.; Rella, Chris W.

2017-08-01

Cavity ring-down spectrometers have generally been designed to operate under conditions in which the background gas has a constant composition. However, there are a number of observational and experimental situations of interest in which the background gas has a variable composition. In this study, we examine the effect of background gas composition on a cavity ring-down spectrometer that measures δ18O-H2O and δ2H-H2O values based on the amplitude of water isotopologue absorption features around 7184 cm-1 (L2120-i, Picarro, Inc.). For background mixtures balanced with N2, the apparent δ18O values deviate from true values by -0.50 ± 0.001 ‰ O2 %-1 and -0.57 ± 0.001 ‰ Ar %-1, and apparent δ2H values deviate from true values by 0.26 ± 0.004 ‰ O2 %-1 and 0.42 ± 0.004 ‰ Ar %-1. The artifacts are the result of broadening, narrowing, and shifting of both the target absorption lines and strong neighboring lines. While the background-induced isotopic artifacts can largely be corrected with simple empirical or semi-mechanistic models, neither type of model is capable of completely correcting the isotopic artifacts to within the inherent instrument precision. The development of strategies for dynamically detecting and accommodating background variation in N2, O2, and/or Ar would facilitate the application of cavity ring-down spectrometers to a new class of observations and experiments.

Nuclear organization of nucleotide excision repair is mediated by RING1B dependent H2A-ubiquitylation

PubMed Central

Chitale, Shalaka; Richly, Holger

2017-01-01

One of the major cellular DNA repair pathways is nucleotide excision repair (NER). It is the primary pathway for repair of various DNA lesions caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, such as cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and 6-4 photoproducts. Although lesion-containing DNA associates with the nuclear matrix after UV irradiation it is still not understood how nuclear organization affects NER. Analyzing unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) indicates that NER preferentially occurs in specific nuclear areas, viz the nucleolus. Upon inducing localized damage, we observe migration of damaged DNA towards the nucleolus. Employing a LacR-based tethering system we demonstrate that H2A-ubiquitylation via the UV-RING1B complex localizes chromatin close to the nucleolus. We further show that the H2A-ubiquitin binding protein ZRF1 resides in the nucleolus, and that it anchors ubiquitylated chromatin along with XPC. Our data thus provide insight into the sub-nuclear organization of NER and reveal a novel role for histone H2A-ubiquitylation. PMID:28416769

A comprehensive computational study on pathogenic mis-sense mutations spanning the RING2 and REP domains of Parkin protein.

PubMed

Biswas, Ria; Bagchi, Angshuman

2017-04-30

Various mutations in PARK2 gene, which encodes the protein parkin, are significantly associated with the onset of autosomal recessive juvenile Parkinson (ARJP) in neuronal cells. Parkin is a multi domain protein, the N-terminal part contains the Ubl and the C-terminal part consists of four zinc coordinating domains, viz., RING0, RING1, in between ring (IBR) and RING2. Disease mutations are spread over all the domains of Parkin, although mutations in some regions may affect the functionality of Parkin more adversely. The mutations in the RING2 domain are seen to abolish the neuroprotective E3 ligase activity of Parkin. In this current work, we carried out detailed in silico analysis to study the extent of pathogenicity of mutations spanning the Parkin RING2 domain and the adjoining REP region by SIFT, Mutation Accessor, PolyPhen2, SNPs and GO, GV/GD and I-mutant. To study the structural and functional implications of these mutations on RING2-REP domain of Parkin, we studied the solvent accessibility (SASA/RSA), hydrophobicity, intra-molecular hydrogen bonding profile and domain analysis by various computational tools. Finally, we analysed the interaction energy profiles of the mutants and compared them to the wild type protein using Discovery studio 2.5. By comparing the various analyses it could be safely concluded that except P437L and A379V mutations, all other mutations were potentially deleterious affecting various structural aspects of RING2 domain architecture. This study is based purely on computational approach which has the potential to identify disease mutations and the information could further be used in treatment of diseases and prognosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A structured understanding of cellobiohydrolase I binding to poplar lignin fractions after dilute acid pretreatment.

PubMed

Yao, Lan; Yoo, Chang Geun; Meng, Xianzhi; Li, Mi; Pu, Yunqiao; Ragauskas, Arthur J; Yang, Haitao

2018-01-01

Cellulase adsorption to lignin is considered a cost barrier for bioethanol production; however, its detailed association mechanism is still not fully understood. In this study, two natural poplar variants with high and low sugar release performance were selected as the low and high recalcitrant raw materials (named L and H , respectively). Three different lignin fractions were extracted using ethanol, followed by p -dioxane and then cellulase treatment from the dilute acid pretreated poplar solids (fraction 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Each lignin fraction had different physicochemical properties. Ethanol-extracted lignin had the lowest weight average molecular weight, while the molecular weights for the other two lignin fractions were similar. 31 P NMR analysis revealed that lignin fraction with higher molecular weight contained more aliphatic hydroxyl groups and less phenolic hydroxyl groups. Semi-quantitative analysis by 2D HSQC NMR indicated that the lignin fractions isolated from the natural variants had different contents of syringyl (S), guaiacyl (G) and interunit linkages. Lignin extracted by ethanol contained the largest amount of S units, the smallest amounts of G and p -hydroxybenzoate (PB) subunits, while the contents of these lignin subunits in the other two lignin fractions were similar. The lignin fraction obtained after cellulase treatment was primarily comprised of β- O -4 linkages with small amounts of β-5 and β-β linkages. The binding strength of these three lignin fractions obtained by Langmuir equations were in the order of L 1  >  L 3  >  L 2 for the low recalcitrance poplar and H 1  >  H 2  >  H 3 for the high recalcitrance poplar. Overall, adsorption ability of lignin was correlated with the sugar release of poplar. Structural features of lignin were associated with its binding to CBH. For natural poplar variants, lignin fractions with lower molecular weight and polydispersity index (PDI) exhibited more CBH adsorption

Can we use short rotation coppice poplar for sugar based biorefinery feedstock? Bioconversion of 2-year-old poplar grown as short rotation coppice.

PubMed

Dou, Chang; Marcondes, Wilian F; Djaja, Jessica E; Bura, Renata; Gustafson, Rick

2017-01-01

Feedstock cost is a substantial barrier to the commercialization of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Poplar grown using a short rotation coppice (SRC) system has the potential to provide a low-cost feedstock and economically viable sugar yields for fuels and chemicals production. In the coppice management regime, poplars are harvested after 2 years' growth to develop the root system and establish the trees. The biomass from these 2-year-old trees is very heterogeneous, and includes components of leaf, bark, branch, and wood chip. This material is quite different than the samples that have been used in most poplar bioconversion research, which come from mature trees of short rotation forestry (SRF) plantations. If the coppice management regime is to be used, it is important that feedstock growers maximize their revenue from this initial harvest, but the heterogeneous nature of the biomass may be challenging for bioconversion. This work evaluates bioconversion of 2-year-old poplar coppice and compares its performance to whitewood chips from 12-year-old poplar. The 2-year-old whole tree coppice (WTC) is comprised of 37% leaf, 9% bark, 12% branch, and 42% wood chip. As expected, the chemical compositions of each component were markedly different. The leaf has a low sugar content but is high in phenolics, ash, and extractives. By removing the leaves, the sugar content of the biomass increased significantly, while the phenolic, ash, and extractives contents decreased. Leaf removal improved monomeric sugar yield by 147 kg/tonne of biomass following steam pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Bioconversion of the no-leaf coppice (NLC) achieved a 67% overall sugar recovery, showing no significant difference to mature whitewood from forestry plantation (WWF, 71%). The overall sugar yield of NLC was 135 kg/tonne less than that of WWF, due to the low inherent sugar content in original biomass. An economic analysis shows the minimum ethanol selling price required to cover the

The chemistry of (ring)Ru sup 2+ (ring = tetramethylthiophene, p-cymene)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ganja, E.A.; Rauchfuss, T.B.; Stern, C.L.

1991-01-01

Described are the compounds ((ring)Ru(OTf){sub 2}){sub x}, where ring = 2,3,4,5-tetramethylthiophene (TMT, 1), and p-cymene (2). These electrophilic reagents serve as precursors to ((ring)RuL{sub 3}){sup 2+}, where L{sub 3} = (H{sub 2}O){sub 3}, (NH{sub 3}){sub 3}, and (PH{sub 3}){sub 3}. Solutions of 1 and 2 react with carbon monoxide to give (ring)Ru(CO)(OTf){sub 2}. The addition of thiophenes to CH{sub 2}Cl{sub 2} solutions of 1 or 2 leads to the precipitation of the sandwich compounds ((ring)(SC{sub 4}R{sub 4})Ru)(OTf){sub 2}, where SC{sub 4}R{sub 4} = thiophene, 2,5-dimethylthiophene, and TMT. ((TMT)Ru(H{sub 2}O){sub 3})(OTf){sub 2} was characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, which established amore » piano-stool geometry with a planar TMT ligand. ((TMT)Ru(D{sub 2}O){sub 3})(OTf){sub 2} decomposes in D{sub 2}O solution at 150C to give ((TMT){sub 2}Ru){sup 2+}, which undergoes selective deuteration at the 2,5-methyl groups. D{sub 2}O solutions of ((TMT){sub 2}Ru){sup 2+} undergo photochemical loss of one TMT ligand in water to give ((TMT)Ru(H{sub 2}O){sub 3}){sup 2+}. A procedure is described for the reversible loading of 1 onto {gamma}-alumina, which in turn was characterized by {sup 13}C CP-MAS NMR spectroscopy.« less

Hydrogen Peroxide Response in Leaves of Poplar (Populus simonii × Populus nigra) Revealed from Physiological and Proteomic Analyses

PubMed Central

Jin, Xin; Sun, Xiaomei; Gao, Tianxiang; Chen, Xiaomei; She, Yimin; Jiang, Tingbo; Chen, Sixue; Dai, Shaojun

2017-01-01

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is one of the most abundant reactive oxygen species (ROS), which plays dual roles as a toxic byproduct of cell metabolism and a regulatory signal molecule in plant development and stress response. Populus simonii × Populus nigra is an important cultivated forest species with resistance to cold, drought, insect and disease, and also a key model plant for forest genetic engineering. In this study, H2O2 response in P. simonii × P. nigra leaves was investigated using physiological and proteomics approaches. The seedlings of 50-day-old P. simonii × P. nigra under H2O2 stress exhibited stressful phenotypes, such as increase of in vivo H2O2 content, decrease of photosynthetic rate, elevated osmolytes, antioxidant accumulation, as well as increased activities of several ROS scavenging enzymes. Besides, 81 H2O2-responsive proteins were identified in the poplar leaves. The diverse abundant patterns of these proteins highlight the H2O2-responsive pathways in leaves, including 14-3-3 protein and nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK)-mediated signaling, modulation of thylakoid membrane structure, enhancement of various ROS scavenging pathways, decrease of photosynthesis, dynamics of proteins conformation, and changes in carbohydrate and other metabolisms. This study provides valuable information for understanding H2O2-responsive mechanisms in leaves of P. simonii × P. nigra. PMID:28974034

Silvical Characteristics of Yellow-Poplar

Treesearch

David F. Olson

1969-01-01

Yellow-poplar (Liriorlentlron tulipifera L.) is also commonly known as tulip poplar, tulip tree, white-poplar, whitewood, and "poplar" (60). It gets its name from the tulip-like flowers which it bears in the late spring. Because of the excellent form and rapid growth of the tree, plus the fine working qualities of the wood, yellow-poplar is one of the most...

Protein-protein Förster resonance energy transfer analysis of nucleosome core particles containing H2A and H2A.Z.

PubMed

Hoch, Duane A; Stratton, Jessica J; Gloss, Lisa M

2007-08-24

A protein-protein Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) system, employing probes at multiple positions, was designed to specifically monitor the dissociation of the H2A-H2B dimer from the nucleosome core particle (NCP). Tryptophan donors and Cys-AEDANS acceptors were chosen because, compared to previous NCP FRET fluorophores, they: (1) are smaller and less hydrophobic, which should minimize perturbations of histone and NCP structure; and (2) have an R0 of 20 A, which is much less than the dimensions of the NCP (approximately 50 A width and approximately 100 A diameter). Equilibrium protein unfolding titrations indicate that the donor and acceptor moieties have minimal effects on the stability of the H2A-H2B dimer and (H3-H4)2 tetramer. NCPs containing the various FRET pairs were reconstituted with the 601 DNA positioning element. Equilibrium NaCl-induced dissociation of the modified NCPs showed that the 601 sequence stabilized the NCP to dimer dissociation relative to weaker positioning sequences. This finding implies a significant role for the H2A-H2B dimers in determining the DNA sequence dependence of NCP stability. The free energy of dissociation determined from reversible and well-defined sigmoidal transitions revealed two distinct phases reflecting the dissociation of individual H2A-H2B dimers, confirming cooperativity as suggested previously; these data allow quantitative description of the cooperativity. The FRET system was then used to study the effects of the histone variant H2A.Z on NCP stability; previous studies have reported both destabilizing and stabilizing effects. H2A.Z FRET NCP dissociation transitions suggest a slight increase in stability but a significant increase in cooperativity of the dimer dissociations. Thus, the utility of this protein-protein FRET system to monitor the effects of histone variants on NCP dynamics has been demonstrated, and the system appears equally well-suited for dissection of the kinetic processes of dimer

Plantation forestry under global warming: hybrid poplars with improved thermotolerance provide new insights on the in vivo function of small heat shock protein chaperones.

PubMed

Merino, Irene; Contreras, Angela; Jing, Zhong-Ping; Gallardo, Fernando; Cánovas, Francisco M; Gómez, Luis

2014-02-01

Climate-driven heat stress is a key factor affecting forest plantation yields. While its effects are expected to worsen during this century, breeding more tolerant genotypes has proven elusive. We report here a substantial and durable increase in the thermotolerance of hybrid poplar (Populus tremula×Populus alba) through overexpression of a major small heat shock protein (sHSP) with convenient features. Experimental evidence was obtained linking protective effects in the transgenic events with the unique chaperone activity of sHSPs. In addition, significant positive correlations were observed between phenotype strength and heterologous sHSP accumulation. The remarkable baseline levels of transgene product (up to 1.8% of total leaf protein) have not been reported in analogous studies with herbaceous species. As judged by protein analyses, such an accumulation is not matched either by endogenous sHSPs in both heat-stressed poplar plants and field-grown adult trees. Quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction analyses supported these observations and allowed us to identify the poplar members most responsive to heat stress. Interestingly, sHSP overaccumulation was not associated with pleiotropic effects that might decrease yields. The poplar lines developed here also outperformed controls under in vitro and ex vitro culture conditions (callus biomass, shoot production, and ex vitro survival), even in the absence of thermal stress. These results reinforce the feasibility of improving valuable genotypes for plantation forestry, a field where in vitro recalcitrance, long breeding cycles, and other practical factors constrain conventional genetic approaches. They also provide new insights into the biological functions of the least understood family of heat shock protein chaperones.

Functional analyses of PtRDM1 gene overexpression in poplars and evaluation of its effect on DNA methylation and response to salt stress.

PubMed

Movahedi, Ali; Zhang, Jiaxin; Sun, Weibo; Mohammadi, Kourosh; Almasi Zadeh Yaghuti, Amir; Wei, Hui; Wu, Xiaolong; Yin, Tongming; Zhuge, Qiang

2018-06-01

Epigenetic modification by DNA methylation is necessary for all cellular processes, including genetic expression events, DNA repair, genomic imprinting and regulation of tissue development. It occurs almost exclusively at the C5 position of symmetric CpG and asymmetric CpHpG and CpHpH sites in genomic DNA. The RNA-directed DNA methylation (RDM1) gene is crucial for heterochromatin and DNA methylation. We overexpressed PtRDM1 gene from Populus trichocarpa to amplify transcripts of orthologous RDM1 in 'Nanlin895' (P. deltoides × P. euramericana 'Nanlin895'). This overexpression resulted in increasing RDM1 transcript levels: by ∼150% at 0 mM NaCl treatment and by ∼300% at 60 mM NaCl treatment compared to WT (control) poplars. Genomic cytosine methylation was monitored within 5.8S rDNA and histone H3 loci by bisulfite sequencing. In total, transgenic poplars revealed more DNA methylation than WT plants. In our results, roots revealed more methylated CG contexts than stems and leaves whereas, histone H3 presented more DNA methylation than 5.8S rDNA in both WT and transgenic poplars. The NaCl stresses enhanced more DNA methylation in transgenic poplars than WT plants through histone H3 and 5.8 rDNA loci. Also, the overexpression of PtRDM1 resulted in hyper-methylation, which affected plant phenotype. Transgenic poplars revealed significantly more regeneration of roots than WT poplars via NaCl treatments. Our results proved that RDM1 protein enhanced the DNA methylation by chromatin remodeling (e.g. histone H3) more than repetitive DNA sequences (e.g. 5.8S rDNA). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Wheat germ-based protein libraries for the functional characterisation of the Arabidopsis E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzymes and the RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase enzymes.

PubMed

Ramadan, Abdelaziz; Nemoto, Keiichirou; Seki, Motoaki; Shinozaki, Kazuo; Takeda, Hiroyuki; Takahashi, Hirotaka; Sawasaki, Tatsuya

2015-11-10

Protein ubiquitination is a ubiquitous mechanism in eukaryotes. In Arabidopsis, ubiquitin modification is mainly mediated by two ubiquitin activating enzymes (E1s), 37 ubiquitin conjugating enzymes (E2s), and more than 1300 predicted ubiquitin ligase enzymes (E3s), of which ~470 are RING-type E3s. A large proportion of the RING E3's gene products have yet to be characterised in vitro, likely because of the laborious work involved in large-scale cDNA cloning and protein expression, purification, and characterisation. In addition, several E2s, which might be necessary for the activity of certain E3 ligases, cannot be expressed by Escherichia coli or cultured insect cells and, therefore, remain uncharacterised. Using the RIKEN Arabidopsis full-length cDNA library (RAFL) with the 'split-primer' PCR method and a wheat germ cell-free system, we established protein libraries of Arabidopsis E2 and RING E3 enzymes. We expressed 35 Arabidopsis E2s including six enzymes that have not been previously expressed, and 204 RING proteins, most of which had not been functionally characterised. Thioester assays using dithiothreitol (DTT) showed DTT-sensitive ubiquitin thioester formation for all E2s expressed. In expression assays of RING proteins, 31 proteins showed high molecular smears, which are probably the result of their functional activity. The activities of another 27 RING proteins were evaluated with AtUBC10 and/or a group of different E2s. All the 27 RING E3s tested showed ubiquitin ligase activity, including 17 RING E3s. Their activities are reported for the first time. The wheat germ cell-free system used in our study, which is a eukaryotic expression system and more closely resembles the endogenous expression of plant proteins, is very suitable for expressing Arabidopsis E2s and RING E3s in their functional form. In addition, the protein libraries described here can be used for further understanding E2-E3 specificities and as platforms for protein-protein interaction

A structured understanding of cellobiohydrolase I binding to poplar lignin fractions after dilute acid pretreatment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yao, Lan; Yoo, Chang Geun; Meng, Xianzhi

Background: Cellulase adsorption to lignin is considered a cost barrier for bioethanol production; however, its detailed association mechanism is still not fully understood. In this study, two natural poplar variants with high and low sugar release performance were selected as the low and high recalcitrant raw materials (named L and H, respectively). Three different lignin fractions were extracted using ethanol, followed by p-dioxane and then cellulase treatment from the dilute acid pretreated poplar solids (fraction 1, 2, and 3, respectively).Results: Each lignin fraction had different physicochemical properties. Ethanol-extracted lignin had the lowest weight average molecular weight, while the molecular weightsmore » for the other two lignin fractions were similar. 31P NMR analysis revealed that lignin fraction with higher molecular weight contained more aliphatic hydroxyl groups and less phenolic hydroxyl groups. Semi-quantitative analysis by 2D HSQC NMR indicated that the lignin fractions isolated from the natural variants had different contents of syringyl (S), guaiacyl (G) and interunit linkages. Lignin extracted by ethanol contained the largest amount of S units, the smallest amounts of G and p-hydroxybenzoate (PB) subunits, while the contents of these lignin subunits in the other two lignin fractions were similar. The lignin fraction obtained after cellulase treatment was primarily comprised of β-O-4 linkages with small amounts of β-5 and β–β linkages. The binding strength of these three lignin fractions obtained by Langmuir equations were in the order of L1 > L3 > L2 for the low recalcitrance poplar and H1 > H2 > H3 for the high recalcitrance poplar.Conclusions: Overall, adsorption ability of lignin was correlated with the sugar release of poplar. Structural features of lignin were associated with its binding to CBH. For natural poplar variants, lignin fractions with lower molecular weight and polydispersity index (PDI) exhibited more CBH

A structured understanding of cellobiohydrolase I binding to poplar lignin fractions after dilute acid pretreatment

DOE PAGES

Yao, Lan; Yoo, Chang Geun; Meng, Xianzhi; ...

2018-04-04

Background: Cellulase adsorption to lignin is considered a cost barrier for bioethanol production; however, its detailed association mechanism is still not fully understood. In this study, two natural poplar variants with high and low sugar release performance were selected as the low and high recalcitrant raw materials (named L and H, respectively). Three different lignin fractions were extracted using ethanol, followed by p-dioxane and then cellulase treatment from the dilute acid pretreated poplar solids (fraction 1, 2, and 3, respectively).Results: Each lignin fraction had different physicochemical properties. Ethanol-extracted lignin had the lowest weight average molecular weight, while the molecular weightsmore » for the other two lignin fractions were similar. 31P NMR analysis revealed that lignin fraction with higher molecular weight contained more aliphatic hydroxyl groups and less phenolic hydroxyl groups. Semi-quantitative analysis by 2D HSQC NMR indicated that the lignin fractions isolated from the natural variants had different contents of syringyl (S), guaiacyl (G) and interunit linkages. Lignin extracted by ethanol contained the largest amount of S units, the smallest amounts of G and p-hydroxybenzoate (PB) subunits, while the contents of these lignin subunits in the other two lignin fractions were similar. The lignin fraction obtained after cellulase treatment was primarily comprised of β-O-4 linkages with small amounts of β-5 and β–β linkages. The binding strength of these three lignin fractions obtained by Langmuir equations were in the order of L1 > L3 > L2 for the low recalcitrance poplar and H1 > H2 > H3 for the high recalcitrance poplar.Conclusions: Overall, adsorption ability of lignin was correlated with the sugar release of poplar. Structural features of lignin were associated with its binding to CBH. For natural poplar variants, lignin fractions with lower molecular weight and polydispersity index (PDI) exhibited more CBH

Structure-Guided Design of Peptides as Tools to Probe the Protein-Protein Interaction between Cullin-2 and Elongin BC Substrate Adaptor in Cullin RING E3 Ubiquitin Ligases.

PubMed

Cardote, Teresa A F; Ciulli, Alessio

2017-09-21

Cullin RING E3 ubiquitin ligases (CRLs) are large dynamic multi-subunit complexes that control the fate of many proteins in cells. CRLs are attractive drug targets for the development of small-molecule inhibitors and chemical inducers of protein degradation. Herein we describe a structure-guided biophysical approach to probe the protein-protein interaction (PPI) between the Cullin-2 scaffold protein and the adaptor subunits Elongin BC within the context of the von Hippel-Lindau complex (CRL2 VHL ) using peptides. Two peptides were shown to bind at the targeted binding site on Elongin C, named the "EloC site", with micromolar dissociation constants, providing a starting point for future optimization. Our results suggest ligandability of the EloC binding site to short linear peptides, unveiling the opportunity and challenges to develop small molecules that have the potential to target selectively the Cul2-adaptor PPI within CRLs. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Characterization of an apple TT2-type R2R3 MYB transcription factor functionally similar to the poplar proanthocyanidin regulator PtMYB134.

PubMed

Gesell, Andreas; Yoshida, Kazuko; Tran, Lan T; Constabel, C Peter

2014-09-01

The apple MdMYB9 gene encodes a positive regulator of proanthocyanidin synthesis that activates anthocyanidin reductase promoters from apple and poplar via interaction with basic helix-loop-helix proteins. The regulation of proanthocyanidins (PAs, condensed tannins) is of great importance in food plants due to the many benefits of PAs in the human diet. Two candidate flavonoid MYB regulators, MdMYB9 and MdMYB11, were cloned from apple (Malus × domestica) based on their similarity to known MYB PA regulators. Transcript accumulation of both MdMYB9 and MdMYB11 was induced by high light and wounding, similar to the poplar (Populus spp) PA regulator PtMYB134. In transient activation assays with various basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) co-regulators, MdMYB9 activated apple and poplar anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) promoters, while MdMYB11 showed no activity. Potential transcription factor binding elements were found within several ANR promoters, and the importance of the bHLH binding site (E-box) on ANR promoter activation was demonstrated via mutational analysis. The ability of MdMYB9 and PtMYB134 to reciprocally activate ANR promoters from both apple and poplar and to partner with heterologous bHLH co-factors from these plants confirms the high degree of conservation of PA regulatory complexes across species. The similarity in apple and poplar PA regulation suggests that regulatory genes from poplar could be effectively employed for metabolic engineering of the PA pathway in apple.

Functional roles of the pepper RING finger protein gene, CaRING1, in abscisic acid signaling and dehydration tolerance.

PubMed

Lim, Chae Woo; Hwang, Byung Kook; Lee, Sung Chul

2015-09-01

Plants are constantly exposed to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses, which include pathogens and conditions of high salinity, low temperature, and drought. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a major plant hormone involved in signal transduction pathways that mediate the defense response of plants to abiotic stress. Previously, we isolated Ring finger protein gene (CaRING1) from pepper (Capsicum annuum), which is associated with resistance to bacterial pathogens, accompanied by hypersensitive cell death. Here, we report a new function of the CaRING1 gene product in the ABA-mediated defense responses of plants to dehydration stress. The expression of the CaRING1 gene was induced in pepper leaves treated with ABA or exposed to dehydration or NaCl. Virus-induced gene silencing of CaRING1 in pepper plants exhibited low degree of ABA-induced stomatal closure and high levels of transpirational water loss in dehydrated leaves. These led to be more vulnerable to dehydration stress in CaRING1-silenced pepper than in the control pepper, accompanied by reduction of ABA-regulated gene expression and low accumulation of ABA and H2O2. In contrast, CaRING1-overexpressing transgenic plants showed enhanced sensitivity to ABA during the seedling growth and establishment. These plants were also more tolerant to dehydration stress than the wild-type plants because of high ABA accumulation, enhanced stomatal closure and increased expression of stress-responsive genes. Together, these results suggest that the CaRING1 acts as positive factor for dehydration tolerance in Arabidopsis by modulating ABA biosynthesis and ABA-mediated stomatal closing and gene expression.

A Ring Polymer Molecular Dynamics Approach to Study the Transition between Statistical and Direct Mechanisms in the H2 + H3+ → H3+ + H2 Reaction.

PubMed

Suleimanov, Yury V; Aguado, Alfredo; Gómez-Carrasco, Susana; Roncero, Octavio

2018-05-03

Because of its fundamental importance in astrochemistry, the H 2 + H 3 + → H 3 + + H 2 reaction has been studied experimentally in a wide temperature range. Theoretical studies of the title reaction significantly lag primarily because of the challenges associated with the proper treatment of the zero-point energy (ZPE). As a result, all previous theoretical estimates for the ratio between a direct proton-hop and indirect exchange (via the H 5 + complex) channels deviate from the experiment, in particular, at lower temperatures where the quantum effects dominate. In this work, the ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) method is applied to study this reaction, providing very good agreement with the experiment. RPMD is immune to the shortcomings associated with the ZPE leakage and is able to describe the transition from direct to indirect mechanisms below room temperature. We argue that RPMD represents a useful tool for further studies of numerous ZPE-sensitive chemical reactions that are of high interest in astrochemistry.

Models of S/π interactions in protein structures: Comparison of the H2S–benzene complex with PDB data

PubMed Central

Ringer, Ashley L.; Senenko, Anastasia; Sherrill, C. David

2007-01-01

S/π interactions are prevalent in biochemistry and play an important role in protein folding and stabilization. Geometries of cysteine/aromatic interactions found in crystal structures from the Brookhaven Protein Data Bank (PDB) are analyzed and compared with the equilibrium configurations predicted by high-level quantum mechanical results for the H2S–benzene complex. A correlation is observed between the energetically favorable configurations on the quantum mechanical potential energy surface of the H2S–benzene model and the cysteine/aromatic configurations most frequently found in crystal structures of the PDB. In contrast to some previous PDB analyses, configurations with the sulfur over the aromatic ring are found to be the most important. Our results suggest that accurate quantum computations on models of noncovalent interactions may be helpful in understanding the structures of proteins and other complex systems. PMID:17766371

The MDM2 RING Domain and Central Acidic Domain Play Distinct Roles in MDM2 Protein Homodimerization and MDM2-MDMX Protein Heterodimerization*

PubMed Central

Leslie, Patrick L.; Ke, Hengming; Zhang, Yanping

2015-01-01

The oncoprotein murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is an E3 ligase that plays a prominent role in p53 suppression by promoting its polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. In its active form, MDM2 forms homodimers as well as heterodimers with the homologous protein murine double minute 4 (MDMX), both of which are thought to occur through their respective C-terminal RING (really interesting new gene) domains. In this study, using multiple MDM2 mutants, we show evidence suggesting that MDM2 homo- and heterodimerization occur through distinct mechanisms because MDM2 RING domain mutations that inhibit MDM2 interaction with MDMX do not affect MDM2 interaction with WT MDM2. Intriguingly, deletion of a portion of the MDM2 central acidic domain selectively inhibits interaction with MDM2 while leaving intact the ability of MDM2 to interact with MDMX and to ubiquitinate p53. Further analysis of an MDM2 C-terminal deletion mutant reveals that the C-terminal residues of MDM2 are required for both MDM2 and MDMX interaction. Collectively, our results suggest a model in which MDM2-MDMX heterodimerization requires the extreme C terminus and proper RING domain structure of MDM2, whereas MDM2 homodimerization requires the extreme C terminus and the central acidic domain of MDM2, suggesting that MDM2 homo- and heterodimers utilize distinct MDM2 domains. Our study is the first to report mutations capable of separating MDM2 homo- and heterodimerization. PMID:25809483

The MDM2 RING domain and central acidic domain play distinct roles in MDM2 protein homodimerization and MDM2-MDMX protein heterodimerization.

PubMed

Leslie, Patrick L; Ke, Hengming; Zhang, Yanping

2015-05-15

The oncoprotein murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is an E3 ligase that plays a prominent role in p53 suppression by promoting its polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. In its active form, MDM2 forms homodimers as well as heterodimers with the homologous protein murine double minute 4 (MDMX), both of which are thought to occur through their respective C-terminal RING (really interesting new gene) domains. In this study, using multiple MDM2 mutants, we show evidence suggesting that MDM2 homo- and heterodimerization occur through distinct mechanisms because MDM2 RING domain mutations that inhibit MDM2 interaction with MDMX do not affect MDM2 interaction with WT MDM2. Intriguingly, deletion of a portion of the MDM2 central acidic domain selectively inhibits interaction with MDM2 while leaving intact the ability of MDM2 to interact with MDMX and to ubiquitinate p53. Further analysis of an MDM2 C-terminal deletion mutant reveals that the C-terminal residues of MDM2 are required for both MDM2 and MDMX interaction. Collectively, our results suggest a model in which MDM2-MDMX heterodimerization requires the extreme C terminus and proper RING domain structure of MDM2, whereas MDM2 homodimerization requires the extreme C terminus and the central acidic domain of MDM2, suggesting that MDM2 homo- and heterodimers utilize distinct MDM2 domains. Our study is the first to report mutations capable of separating MDM2 homo- and heterodimerization. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Super Star Clusters and H II Regions in Nuclear Rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filippenko, Alex

1996-07-01

We propose to obtain WFPC2 optical broad-band {F547M and F814W} and narrow-band Halpha+ionN2 {F658N} images of nuclear starburst rings in four nearby galaxies for which we already have ultraviolet {F220W} FOC data. Nuclear rings {or ``hot- spot'' regions} in barred spirals are some of the nearest and least obscured starburst regions, and HST images of nuclear rings in several galaxies show that the rings contain large populations of super star clusters similar to those recently discovered in other types of starburst systems. These compact clusters, many having luminosities exceeding that of the R136 cluster in 30 Doradus, represent a violent mode of star formation distinct from that seen in ordinary disk ionH2 regions, and the nuclear rings present us with an opportunity to study large numbers of these extreme clusters in relatively unobscured starburst environments. It has been suggested that super star clusters are present-day versions of young globular clusters. To evaluate this hypothesis, it is important to understand the physical properties and stellar contents of the clusters, but previous HST studies of nuclear ring galaxies have only used single-filter observations. Together with our UV data, new WFPC2 images will enable us to determine the H II region and cluster luminosity functions within nuclear rings, measure cluster radii, derive age and mass estimates for the clusters by comparison with evolutionary synthesis models, and study the structure and evolution of nuclear rings.

Quinoxaline-substituted chalcones as new inhibitors of breast cancer resistance protein ABCG2: polyspecificity at B-ring position

PubMed Central

Winter, Evelyn; Gozzi, Gustavo Jabor; Chiaradia-Delatorre, Louise Domeneghini; Daflon-Yunes, Nathalia; Terreux, Raphael; Gauthier, Charlotte; Mascarello, Alessandra; Leal, Paulo César; Cadena, Silvia M; Yunes, Rosendo Augusto; Nunes, Ricardo José; Creczynski-Pasa, Tania Beatriz; Di Pietro, Attilio

2014-01-01

A series of chalcones substituted by a quinoxaline unit at the B-ring were synthesized and tested as inhibitors of breast cancer resistance protein-mediated mitoxantrone efflux. These compounds appeared more efficient than analogs containing other B-ring substituents such as 2-naphthyl or 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl while an intermediate inhibitory activity was obtained with a 1-naphthyl group. In all cases, two or three methoxy groups had to be present on the phenyl A-ring to produce a maximal inhibition. Molecular modeling indicated both electrostatic and steric positive contributions. A higher potency was observed when the 2-naphthyl or 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl group was shifted to the A-ring and methoxy substituents were shifted to the phenyl B-ring, indicating preferences among polyspecificity of inhibition. PMID:24920885

Climatic interpretation of tree-ring methoxyl d2H time-series from a central alpine larch forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riechelmann, Dana F. C.; Greule, Markus; Siegwolf, Rolf T. W.; Esper, Jan; Keppler, Frank

2017-04-01

We measured stable hydrogen isotope ratios of lignin methoxyl groups (d2HLM) in high elevation larch trees (Larix decidua Mill.) from the Simplon Valley in southern Switzerland. Thirty-seven larch trees were sampled and five individuals analysed for their d2HLM values at annual (1971-2009) and pentadal resolution (1746-2009). Testing the climate response of the d2HLM series, the annually resolved series show a positive correlation of r = 0.60 with June/July precipitation and weaker but negative correlation with June/July temperature. In addition, a negative correlation with June-August d2H in precipitation of the nearby GNIP station in Locarno is observed. The pentadally resolved d2HLM series show no significant correlation to climate parameters. The positive correlation of the annually resolved data to summer precipitation is uncommon to d2H measurements from tree-rings (Feakins et al., 2013; Helle and Schleser, 2004; McCarroll and Loader, 2004; Mischel et al., 2015; White et al., 1994). However, we explain the positive association with warm season hydroclimate as follows: methoxyl groups of lignin are directly formed from tissues in the xylem water. More precipitation during June and July, which are on average relatively dry month, results in higher d2H values of the xylem water and therefore, higher d2H value in the lignin methoxyl groups. Therefore, we suggest that d2HLM values of high elevation larch trees might likely serve as a summer precipitation proxy. References: Feakins, S.J., Ellsworth, P.V., Sternberg, L.d.S.L., 2013. Lignin methoxyl hydrogen isotope rations in a coastal ecosystem. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 121: 54-66. Helle, G., Schleser, G.H., 2004. Interpreting Climate Proxies from Tree-rings. In: Fischer, H., Floeser, G., Kumke, T., Lohmann, G., Miller, H., Negendank, J.F.W., et al., editors. The Climate in Historical Times. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 129-148. McCarroll, D., Loader, N.J., 2004. Stable isotopes in tree rings. Quaternary

A ring polymer molecular dynamics study of the isotopologues of the H + H2 reaction.

PubMed

Suleimanov, Yury V; de Tudela, Ricardo Pérez; Jambrina, Pablo G; Castillo, Jesús F; Sáez-Rábanos, Vicente; Manolopoulos, David E; Aoiz, F Javier

2013-03-14

The inclusion of Quantum Mechanical (QM) effects such as zero point energy (ZPE) and tunneling in simulations of chemical reactions, especially in the case of light atom transfer, is an important problem in computational chemistry. In this respect, the hydrogen exchange reaction and its isotopic variants constitute an excellent benchmark for the assessment of approximate QM methods. In particular, the recently developed ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) technique has been demonstrated to give very good results for bimolecular chemical reactions in the gas phase. In this work, we have performed a detailed RPMD study of the H + H(2) reaction and its isotopologues Mu + H(2), D + H(2) and Heμ + H(2), at temperatures ranging from 200 to 1000 K. Thermal rate coefficients and kinetic isotope effects have been computed and compared with exact QM calculations as well as with quasiclassical trajectories and experiment. The agreement with the QM results is good for the heaviest isotopologues, with errors ranging from 15% to 45%, and excellent for Mu + H(2), with errors below 15%. We have seen that RPMD is able to capture the ZPE effect very accurately, a desirable feature of any method based on molecular dynamics. We have also verified Richardson and Althorpe's prediction [J. O. Richardson and S. C. Althorpe, J. Chem. Phys., 2009, 131, 214106] that RPMD will overestimate thermal rates for asymmetric reactions and underestimate them for symmetric reactions in the deep tunneling regime. The ZPE effect along the reaction coordinate must be taken into account when assigning the reaction symmetry in the multidimensional case.

Rings of h-deformed differential operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogievetsky, O. V.; Herlemont, B.

2017-08-01

We describe the center of the ring Diff h ( n) of h- deformed differential operators of type A. We establish an isomorphism between certain localizations of Diff h ( n) and the Weyl algebra W n , extended by n indeterminates.

RING1 is associated with the polycomb group protein complex and acts as a transcriptional repressor.

PubMed

Satijn, D P; Gunster, M J; van der Vlag, J; Hamer, K M; Schul, W; Alkema, M J; Saurin, A J; Freemont, P S; van Driel, R; Otte, A P

1997-07-01

The Polycomb (Pc) protein is a component of a multimeric, chromatin-associated Polycomb group (PcG) protein complex, which is involved in stable repression of gene activity. The identities of components of the PcG protein complex are largely unknown. In a two-hybrid screen with a vertebrate Pc homolog as a target, we identify the human RING1 protein as interacting with Pc. RING1 is a protein that contains the RING finger motif, a specific zinc-binding domain, which is found in many regulatory proteins. So far, the function of the RING1 protein has remained enigmatic. Here, we show that RING1 coimmunoprecipitates with a human Pc homolog, the vertebrate PcG protein BMI1, and HPH1, a human homolog of the PcG protein Polyhomeotic (Ph). Also, RING1 colocalizes with these vertebrate PcG proteins in nuclear domains of SW480 human colorectal adenocarcinoma and Saos-2 human osteosarcoma cells. Finally, we show that RING1, like Pc, is able to repress gene activity when targeted to a reporter gene. Our findings indicate that RING1 is associated with the human PcG protein complex and that RING1, like PcG proteins, can act as a transcriptional repressor.

Keep your fingers off my DNA: protein-protein interactions mediated by C2H2 zinc finger domains.

PubMed

Brayer, Kathryn J; Segal, David J

2008-01-01

Cys2-His2 (C2H2) zinc finger domains (ZFs) were originally identified as DNA-binding domains, and uncharacterized domains are typically assumed to function in DNA binding. However, a growing body of evidence suggests an important and widespread role for these domains in protein binding. There are even examples of zinc fingers that support both DNA and protein interactions, which can be found in well-known DNA-binding proteins such as Sp1, Zif268, and Ying Yang 1 (YY1). C2H2 protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are proving to be more abundant than previously appreciated, more plastic than their DNA-binding counterparts, and more variable and complex in their interactions surfaces. Here we review the current knowledge of over 100 C2H2 zinc finger-mediated PPIs, focusing on what is known about the binding surface, contributions of individual fingers to the interaction, and function. An accurate understanding of zinc finger biology will likely require greater insights into the potential protein interaction capabilities of C2H2 ZFs.

Nitrogen nutrition of poplar trees.

PubMed

Rennenberg, H; Wildhagen, H; Ehlting, B

2010-03-01

Many forest ecosystems have evolved at sites with growth-limiting nitrogen (N) availability, low N input from external sources and high ecosystem internal cycling of N. By contrast, many poplar species are frequent constituents of floodplain forests where they are exposed to a significant ecosystem external supply of N, mainly nitrate, in the moving water table. Therefore, nitrate is much more important for N nutrition of these poplar species than for many other tree species. We summarise current knowledge of nitrate uptake and its regulation by tree internal signals, as well as acquisition of ammonium and organic N from the soil. Unlike herbaceous plants, N nutrition of trees is sustained by seasonal, tree internal cycling. Recent advances in the understanding of seasonal storage and mobilisation in poplar bark and regulation of these processes by temperature and daylength are addressed. To explore consequences of global climate change on N nutrition of poplar trees, responses of N uptake and metabolism to increased atmospheric CO(2) and O(3) concentrations, increased air and soil temperatures, drought and salt stress are highlighted.

Water relations and gas exchange in poplar and willow under water stress and elevated atmospheric CO2.

PubMed

Johnson, Jon D; Tognetti, Roberto; Paris, Piero

2002-05-01

Predictions of shifts in rainfall patterns as atmospheric [CO2] increases could impact the growth of fast growing trees such as Populus spp. and Salix spp. and the interaction between elevated CO2 and water stress in these species is unknown. The objectives of this study were to characterize the responses to elevated CO2 and water stress in these two species, and to determine if elevated CO2 mitigated drought stress effects. Gas exchange, water potential components, whole plant transpiration and growth response to soil drying and recovery were assessed in hybrid poplar (clone 53-246) and willow (Salix sagitta) rooted cuttings growing in either ambient (350 &mgr;mol mol-1) or elevated (700 &mgr;mol mol-1) atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]). Predawn water potential decreased with increasing water stress while midday water potentials remained unchanged (isohydric response). Turgor potentials at both predawn and midday increased in elevated [CO2], indicative of osmotic adjustment. Gas exchange was reduced by water stress while elevated [CO2] increased photosynthetic rates, reduced leaf conductance and nearly doubled instantaneous transpiration efficiency in both species. Dark respiration decreased in elevated [CO2] and water stress reduced Rd in the trees growing in ambient [CO2]. Willow had 56% lower whole plant hydraulic conductivity than poplar, and showed a 14% increase in elevated [CO2] while poplar was unresponsive. The physiological responses exhibited by poplar and willow to elevated [CO2] and water stress, singly, suggest that these species respond like other tree species. The interaction of [CO2] and water stress suggests that elevated [CO2] did mitigate the effects of water stress in willow, but not in poplar.

Ecology and silviculture of poplar plantations.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stanturf, John A.; Van Oosten, Cees; Netzer, Daniel A.

2002-07-01

D.I.; Isebrands, J.G.; Eckenwalder, J.E.; Richardson, J., eds. Poplar culture in North America, part A, chapter 5. Ottawa: NRC Research Press, National Research Council of Canada: 153-206. ABSTRACT. Poplars are some of the fastest growing trees in North America and foresters have sought to capitalize on this potential since the 1940s. Interest in growing poplars has fluctuated, and objectives have shifted between producing sawlogs, pulp-wood, or more densely spaced "woodgrass" or biofuels. Currently, most poplar plantations are established for pulpwood or chip production on rotations of 10 years or less, but interest in sawlog production is increasing. Sid McKnight characterizedmore » cottonwood as a prima donna species: under ideal conditions, growth rates are just short of spectacular. Just as this can be applied to all poplars, it is equally true that all poplars are demanding of good sites and careful establishment. Growing poplars in plantations is challenging, and good establishment the first year is critical to long-term success. If a grower lacks the commitment or resources to provide needed treatments at critical times, then species other than poplars should be considered. Our objective in this chapter is to provide growers with current information for establishing and tending poplar plantations, as practiced in North America. Where we have sufficient information, differences between the poplar-growing regions of the United States and Canada will be noted. Mostly information is available on eastern and black cottonwood and their hybrids.« less

Insect enemies of yellow-poplar

Treesearch

Denver P. Burns; Denver P. Burns

1970-01-01

Yellow-poplar, like the other desirable hardwoods, is attacked by a variety of insects. However, only four species of insects are considered economically important: the tuliptree scale, the yellow-poplar weevil, the root-collar borer, and the Columbian timber beetle. These are native enemies of yellow-poplar (Liriodendvon tzllipifera L.) wherever the tree grows.

Genetic manipulation of isoprene emissions in poplar plants remodels the chloroplast proteome.

PubMed

Velikova, Violeta; Ghirardo, Andrea; Vanzo, Elisa; Merl, Juliane; Hauck, Stefanie M; Schnitzler, Jörg-Peter

2014-04-04

Biogenic isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) improves the integrity and functionality of thylakoid membranes and scavenges reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant tissue under stress conditions. On the basis of available physiological studies, we hypothesized that the suppression of isoprene production in the poplar plant by genetic engineering would cause changes in the chloroplast protein pattern, which in turn would compensate for changes in chloroplast functionality and overall plant performance under abiotic stress. To test this hypothesis, we used a stable isotope-coded protein-labeling technique in conjunction with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. We analyzed quantitative and qualitative changes in the chloroplast proteome of isoprene-emitting and non isoprene-emitting poplars. Here we demonstrate that suppression of isoprene synthase by RNA interference resulted in decreased levels of chloroplast proteins involved in photosynthesis and increased levels of histones, ribosomal proteins, and proteins related to metabolism. Overall, our results show that the absence of isoprene triggers a rearrangement of the chloroplast protein profile to minimize the negative stress effects resulting from the absence of isoprene. The present data strongly support the idea that isoprene improves/stabilizes thylakoid membrane structure and interferes with the production of ROS.

Two dynamin-like proteins stabilize FtsZ rings during Streptomyces sporulation.

PubMed

Schlimpert, Susan; Wasserstrom, Sebastian; Chandra, Govind; Bibb, Maureen J; Findlay, Kim C; Flärdh, Klas; Buttner, Mark J

2017-07-25

During sporulation, the filamentous bacteria Streptomyces undergo a massive cell division event in which the synthesis of ladders of sporulation septa convert multigenomic hyphae into chains of unigenomic spores. This process requires cytokinetic Z-rings formed by the bacterial tubulin homolog FtsZ, and the stabilization of the newly formed Z-rings is crucial for completion of septum synthesis. Here we show that two dynamin-like proteins, DynA and DynB, play critical roles in this process. Dynamins are a family of large, multidomain GTPases involved in key cellular processes in eukaryotes, including vesicle trafficking and organelle division. Many bacterial genomes encode dynamin-like proteins, but the biological function of these proteins has remained largely enigmatic. Using a cell biological approach, we show that the two Streptomyces dynamins specifically localize to sporulation septa in an FtsZ-dependent manner. Moreover, dynamin mutants have a cell division defect due to the decreased stability of sporulation-specific Z-rings, as demonstrated by kymographs derived from time-lapse images of FtsZ ladder formation. This defect causes the premature disassembly of individual Z-rings, leading to the frequent abortion of septum synthesis, which in turn results in the production of long spore-like compartments with multiple chromosomes. Two-hybrid analysis revealed that the dynamins are part of the cell division machinery and that they mediate their effects on Z-ring stability during developmentally controlled cell division via a network of protein-protein interactions involving DynA, DynB, FtsZ, SepF, SepF2, and the FtsZ-positioning protein SsgB.

Genome Enabled Discovery of Carbon Sequestration Genes in Poplar

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Filichkin, Sergei; Etherington, Elizabeth; Ma, Caiping

2007-02-22

The goals of the S.H. Strauss laboratory portion of 'Genome-enabled discovery of carbon sequestration genes in poplar' are (1) to explore the functions of candidate genes using Populus transformation by inserting genes provided by Oakridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Florida (UF) into poplar; (2) to expand the poplar transformation toolkit by developing transformation methods for important genotypes; and (3) to allow induced expression, and efficient gene suppression, in roots and other tissues. As part of the transformation improvement effort, OSU developed transformation protocols for Populus trichocarpa 'Nisqually-1' clone and an early flowering P. alba clone, 6K10. Completemore » descriptions of the transformation systems were published (Ma et. al. 2004, Meilan et. al 2004). Twenty-one 'Nisqually-1' and 622 6K10 transgenic plants were generated. To identify root predominant promoters, a set of three promoters were tested for their tissue-specific expression patterns in poplar and in Arabidopsis as a model system. A novel gene, ET304, was identified by analyzing a collection of poplar enhancer trap lines generated at OSU (Filichkin et. al 2006a, 2006b). Other promoters include the pGgMT1 root-predominant promoter from Casuarina glauca and the pAtPIN2 promoter from Arabidopsis root specific PIN2 gene. OSU tested two induction systems, alcohol- and estrogen-inducible, in multiple poplar transgenics. Ethanol proved to be the more efficient when tested in tissue culture and greenhouse conditions. Two estrogen-inducible systems were evaluated in transgenic Populus, neither of which functioned reliably in tissue culture conditions. GATEWAY-compatible plant binary vectors were designed to compare the silencing efficiency of homologous (direct) RNAi vs. heterologous (transitive) RNAi inverted repeats. A set of genes was targeted for post transcriptional silencing in the model Arabidopsis system; these include the floral meristem identity gene

S-Nitroso-Proteome in Poplar Leaves in Response to Acute Ozone Stress

PubMed Central

Vanzo, Elisa; Ghirardo, Andrea; Merl-Pham, Juliane; Lindermayr, Christian; Heller, Werner; Hauck, Stefanie M.; Durner, Jörg; Schnitzler, Jörg-Peter

2014-01-01

Protein S-nitrosylation, the covalent binding of nitric oxide (NO) to protein cysteine residues, is one of the main mechanisms of NO signaling in plant and animal cells. Using a combination of the biotin switch assay and label-free LC-MS/MS analysis, we revealed the S-nitroso-proteome of the woody model plant Populus x canescens. Under normal conditions, constitutively S-nitrosylated proteins in poplar leaves and calli comprise all aspects of primary and secondary metabolism. Acute ozone fumigation was applied to elicit ROS-mediated changes of the S-nitroso-proteome. This treatment changed the total nitrite and nitrosothiol contents of poplar leaves and affected the homeostasis of 32 S-nitrosylated proteins. Multivariate data analysis revealed that ozone exposure negatively affected the S-nitrosylation status of leaf proteins: 23 proteins were de-nitrosylated and 9 proteins had increased S-nitrosylation content compared to the control. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase 2 (log2[ozone/control] = −3.6) and caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (−3.4), key enzymes catalyzing important steps in the phenylpropanoid and subsequent lignin biosynthetic pathways, respectively, were de-nitrosylated upon ozone stress. Measuring the in vivo and in vitro phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity indicated that the increase of the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity in response to acute ozone is partly regulated by de-nitrosylation, which might favor a higher metabolic flux through the phenylpropanoid pathway within minutes after ozone exposure. PMID:25192423

Atropisomerization in N-aryl-2(1H)-pyrimidin-(thi)ones: a ring-opening/rotation/ring-closure process in place of a classical rotation around the pivot bond.

PubMed

Najahi, Ennaji; Vanthuyne, Nicolas; Nepveu, Françoise; Jean, Marion; Alkorta, Ibon; Elguero, José; Roussel, Christian

2013-12-20

Uncatalyzed racemization processes in atropisomeric diphenyl-like frameworks are classically described as the result of the rotation around the pivotal single bond linking two planar frameworks. Severe constraints leading to more or less distorted transition states account for the experimental barrier to atropenantiomerization. In 1988, one of us hypothesized that, in N-aryl-2(1H)-pyrimidin-(thi)ones, a ring-opening/ring-closure process was contributing to the observed racemization process accounting for the lower barriers in the sulfur analogues than in oxygen analogues. Now, a series of six novel 6-amino-5-cyano-1,4-disubstituted-2(1H)-pyrimidinones 5a-5f and two 6-amino-5-cyano-4-p-tolyl-1-substituted-2(1H)-pyrimidinethiones 6a and 6b were synthesized and characterized through spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction studies. Semipreparative HPLC chiral separation was achieved, and enantiomerization barriers were obtained by thermal racemization. The rotational barriers of 6-amino-5-cyano-1-o-tolyl-4-p-tolyl-2(1H)-pyrimidinone (5b) and 6-amino-5-cyano-1-(naphthalen-1-yl)-4-p-tolyl-2(1H)-pyrimidinone (5e) were found to be 120.4 and 125.1 kJ·mol(-1) (n-BuOH, 117 °C), respectively, and those of the corresponding thiones were 116.8 and 109.6 kJ·mol(-1) (EtOH, 78 °C), respectively. DFT calculations of the rotational barriers clearly ruled out the classical rotation around the pivotal bond with distorted transition states in the case of the sulfur derivatives. Instead, the ranking of the experimental barriers (sulfur versus oxygen, and o-tolyl versus 1-naphthyl in both series) was nicely reproduced by calculations when the rotation occurred via a ring-opened form in N-aryl-2(1H)-pyrimidinethiones.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel RING zinc-finger protein gene up-regulated under in vitro salt stress in cassava.

PubMed

dos Reis, Sávio Pinho; Tavares, Liliane de Souza Conceição; Costa, Carinne de Nazaré Monteiro; Brígida, Aílton Borges Santa; de Souza, Cláudia Regina Batista

2012-06-01

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is one of the world's most important food crops. It is cultivated mainly in developing countries of tropics, since its root is a major source of calories for low-income people due to its high productivity and resistance to many abiotic and biotic factors. A previous study has identified a partial cDNA sequence coding for a putative RING zinc finger in cassava storage root. The RING zinc finger protein is a specialized type of zinc finger protein found in many organisms. Here, we isolated the full-length cDNA sequence coding for M. esculenta RZF (MeRZF) protein by a combination of 5' and 3' RACE assays. BLAST analysis showed that its deduced amino acid sequence has a high level of similarity to plant proteins of RZF family. MeRZF protein contains a signature sequence motif for a RING zinc finger at its C-terminal region. In addition, this protein showed a histidine residue at the fifth coordination site, likely belonging to the RING-H2 subgroup, as confirmed by our phylogenetic analysis. There is also a transmembrane domain in its N-terminal region. Finally, semi-quantitative RT-PCR assays showed that MeRZF expression is increased in detached leaves treated with sodium chloride. Here, we report the first evidence of a RING zinc finger gene of cassava showing potential role in response to salt stress.

Environmental benefits of poplar culture

Treesearch

J. G. Isebrands; D.F. Karnosky.

2001-01-01

Poplars have important values above and beyond wood or fiber production. Poplars have been planted for environmental purposes for centuries. There are reports of poplar plantings dating back to early Chinese history and biblical times in the Middle East, When immigrants came to North America in the 18th and 19th century, they often brought cuttings of their favorite...

Transgenic Hybrid Poplar for Sustainable and Scalable Production of the Commodity/Specialty Chemical, 2-Phenylethanol

PubMed Central

Costa, Michael A.; Marques, Joaquim V.; Dalisay, Doralyn S.; Herman, Barrington; Bedgar, Diana L.; Davin, Laurence B.; Lewis, Norman G.

2013-01-01

Fast growing hybrid poplar offers the means for sustainable production of specialty and commodity chemicals, in addition to rapid biomass production for lignocellulosic deconstruction. Herein we describe transformation of fast-growing transgenic hybrid poplar lines to produce 2-phenylethanol, this being an important fragrance, flavor, aroma, and commodity chemical. It is also readily converted into styrene or ethyl benzene, the latter being an important commodity aviation fuel component. Introducing this biochemical pathway into hybrid poplars marks the beginnings of developing a platform for a sustainable chemical delivery system to afford this and other valuable specialty/commodity chemicals at the scale and cost needed. These modified plant lines mainly sequester 2-phenylethanol via carbohydrate and other covalently linked derivatives, thereby providing an additional advantage of effective storage until needed. The future potential of this technology is discussed. MALDI metabolite tissue imaging also established localization of these metabolites in the leaf vasculature. PMID:24386157

Efficient Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Hybrid Poplar Populus davidiana Dode × Populus bollena Lauche

PubMed Central

Han, Xue; Ma, Shurong; Kong, Xianghui; Takano, Tetsuo; Liu, Shenkui

2013-01-01

Poplar is a model organism for high in vitro regeneration in woody plants. We have chosen a hybrid poplar Populus davidiana Dode × Populus bollena Lauche. By optimizing the Murashige and Skoog medium with (0.3 mg/L) 6-benzylaminopurine and (0.08 mg/L) naphthaleneacetic acid, we have achieved the highest frequency (90%) for shoot regeneration from poplar leaves. It was also important to improve the transformation efficiency of poplar for genetic breeding and other applications. In this study, we found a significant improvement of the transformation frequency by controlling the leaf age. Transformation efficiency was enhanced by optimizing the Agrobacterium concentration (OD600 = 0.8–1.0) and an infection time (20–30 min). According to transmission electron microscopy observations, there were more Agrobacterium invasions in the 30-day-old leaf explants than in 60-day-old and 90-day-old explants. Using the green fluorescent protein (GFP) marker, the expression of MD–GFP fusion proteins in the leaf, shoot, and root of hybrid poplar P. davidiana Dode × P. bollena Lauche was visualized for confirmation of transgene integration. Southern and Northern blot analysis also showed the integration of T-DNA into the genome and gene expression of transgenic plants. Our results suggest that younger leaves had higher transformation efficiency (~30%) than older leaves (10%). PMID:23354481

Neutral O2 and Ion O2+ Sources from Rings into the Inner Magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elrod, M. K.; Johnson, R. E.; Cassidy, T. A.; Wilson, R. J.; Tseng, W.; Ip, W.

2009-12-01

The primary source of neutral O2 for Saturn’s magnetosphere is due to solar UV photons protons that produce O2 from H2O ice decomposition over the main rings as well as the tenuous F and G rings resulting in a tenuous O2 atmosphere (Johnson et. al. 2006). The O2 atmosphere is very thin to the point of being nearly collisionless. Our model of the atmosphere predict that as it interacts with the ring particles, the O2 is adsorbed and desorbed from the rings causing changes in the trajectories, which in turn, allows for a distribution of O2 from the rings throughout the magnetosphere (Tokar et. al. 2005; Tseng et. al. 2009). Predominately through photo-ionization and ion-exchange these O2 neutrals from the ice grains become a source for O2+ ions in the inner magnetosphere. Once the O2 becomes ionized to become O2+ the ions then follow the field lines. The ions interact with the ice particles in the rings to stick to the ring particles effectively reducing the ion density. As a result the ion density is greater over the Cassini Division and the area between the F and G ring where the optical depth due to the ice grain is less. Accordingly, the neutral O2 densities would tend to be high over the higher optical depth of the B and A main rings where the source rates are higher. Models of the neutral densities have shown high densities over the main rings, with a tail through the magnetosphere. Analysis of the CAPS (Cassini Plasma Spectrometer) data from the Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) in 2004 shows a peak in density over the Cassini Division and a higher peak in O2+ ion density between the F and G rings. References: Johnson, R.E., J.G. Luhmann, R.L. Tokar, M. Bouhram, J.J. Berthelier, E.C. Siler, J.F. Cooper, T.W. Hill, H.T. Smith, M. Michael, M. Liu, F.J. Crary, D.T. Young, "Production, Ionization and Redistribution of O2 Saturn's Ring Atmosphere" Icarus 180, 393-402 (2006).(pdf) Tokar, R.L., and 12 colleagues, 2005. Cassini Observations of the Thermal Plasma in the

The RING 2.0 web server for high quality residue interaction networks.

PubMed

Piovesan, Damiano; Minervini, Giovanni; Tosatto, Silvio C E

2016-07-08

Residue interaction networks (RINs) are an alternative way of representing protein structures where nodes are residues and arcs physico-chemical interactions. RINs have been extensively and successfully used for analysing mutation effects, protein folding, domain-domain communication and catalytic activity. Here we present RING 2.0, a new version of the RING software for the identification of covalent and non-covalent bonds in protein structures, including π-π stacking and π-cation interactions. RING 2.0 is extremely fast and generates both intra and inter-chain interactions including solvent and ligand atoms. The generated networks are very accurate and reliable thanks to a complex empirical re-parameterization of distance thresholds performed on the entire Protein Data Bank. By default, RING output is generated with optimal parameters but the web server provides an exhaustive interface to customize the calculation. The network can be visualized directly in the browser or in Cytoscape. Alternatively, the RING-Viz script for Pymol allows visualizing the interactions at atomic level in the structure. The web server and RING-Viz, together with an extensive help and tutorial, are available from URL: http://protein.bio.unipd.it/ring. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Syringyl-rich lignin renders poplars more resistant to degradation by wood decay fungi.

PubMed

Skyba, Oleksandr; Douglas, Carl J; Mansfield, Shawn D

2013-04-01

In order to elucidate the effects of lignin composition on the resistance of wood to degradation by decay fungi, wood specimens from two transgenic poplar lines expressing an Arabidopsis gene encoding ferulate 5-hydroxylase (F5H) driven by the cinnimate-4-hydroxylase promoter (C4H::F5H) that increased syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) monolignol ratios relative to those in the untransformed control wood were incubated with six different wood decay fungi. Alterations in wood weight and chemical composition were monitored over the incubation period. The results showed that transgenic poplar lines extremely rich in syringyl lignin exhibited a drastically improved resistance to degradation by all decay fungi evaluated. Lignin monomer composition and its distribution among cell types and within different cell layers were the sole wood chemistry parameters determining wood durability. Since transgenic poplars with exceedingly high syringyl contents were recalcitrant to degradation, where wood durability is a critical factor, these genotypes may offer improved performance.

Syringyl-Rich Lignin Renders Poplars More Resistant to Degradation by Wood Decay Fungi

PubMed Central

Skyba, Oleksandr; Douglas, Carl J.

2013-01-01

In order to elucidate the effects of lignin composition on the resistance of wood to degradation by decay fungi, wood specimens from two transgenic poplar lines expressing an Arabidopsis gene encoding ferulate 5-hydroxylase (F5H) driven by the cinnimate-4-hydroxylase promoter (C4H::F5H) that increased syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) monolignol ratios relative to those in the untransformed control wood were incubated with six different wood decay fungi. Alterations in wood weight and chemical composition were monitored over the incubation period. The results showed that transgenic poplar lines extremely rich in syringyl lignin exhibited a drastically improved resistance to degradation by all decay fungi evaluated. Lignin monomer composition and its distribution among cell types and within different cell layers were the sole wood chemistry parameters determining wood durability. Since transgenic poplars with exceedingly high syringyl contents were recalcitrant to degradation, where wood durability is a critical factor, these genotypes may offer improved performance. PMID:23396333

Expression of glutathione S-transferases in poplar trees (Populus trichocarpa) exposed to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT).

PubMed

Brentner, Laura B; Mukherji, Sachiyo T; Merchie, Kate M; Yoon, Jong Moon; Schnoor, Jerald L; Van Aken, Benoit

2008-10-01

Twelve Populus genes were identified from Arabidopsis thaliana sequences previously shown to be induced by exposure to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). Using the resources of the Poplar Genome Project and National Center for Biotechnology Information databases, Populus conserved domains were identified and used to design gene specific primers. RNA extracted from root tissues of TNT-exposed hydroponic poplar plants was used to quantify the expression of genes by reverse-transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cyclophilin and 18S ribosomal DNA genes were used as internal standards. Exposure to TNT resulted in a significant increase of gene expression of two glutathione S-transferases (GST), peaking at levels of 25.0 +/- 13.1 and 10 +/- 0.7 fold the expression level of non-exposed plants after 24 h for each of the GST genes, respectively. This paper demonstrates the use of functional genomics information from the model plant species, Arabidopsis, to identify genes which may be important in detoxification of TNT in the model phytoremediation species, Populus trichocarpa.

Yellow-poplar seedfall pattern

Treesearch

LaMont G. Engle

1960-01-01

Knowing the pattern of seedfall can be helpful when trying to regenerate yellow-poplar. This is especially true if the stand contains only scattered yellow-poplar seed trees. Information obtained from seed collections in Indiana shows that most of the seed falls north and northeast of seed trees.

Ecology and silviculture of poplar plantations

Treesearch

John A. Stanturf; Cees van Oosten; Daniel A. Netzer; Mark D. Coleman; C. Jeffrey Portwood

2002-01-01

Poplars are some of the fastest growing trees in North America and foresters have sought to capitalize on this potential since the 1940s. Interest in growing poplars has fluctuated, and objectives have shifted between producing sawlogs, pulp-wood, or more densely spaced "woodgrass" or biofuels. Currently, most poplar plantations are established for pulpwood...

Targeting Protein for Xenopus Kinesin-like Protein 2 (TPX2) Regulates γ-Histone 2AX (γ-H2AX) Levels upon Ionizing Radiation*

PubMed Central

Neumayer, Gernot; Helfricht, Angela; Shim, Su Yeon; Le, Hoa Thi; Lundin, Cecilia; Belzil, Camille; Chansard, Mathieu; Yu, Yaping; Lees-Miller, Susan P.; Gruss, Oliver J.; van Attikum, Haico; Helleday, Thomas; Nguyen, Minh Dang

2012-01-01

The microtubule-associated protein targeting protein for Xenopus kinesin-like protein 2 (TPX2) plays a key role in spindle assembly and is required for mitosis in human cells. In interphase, TPX2 is actively imported into the nucleus to prevent its premature activity in microtubule organization. To date, no function has been assigned to nuclear TPX2. We now report that TPX2 plays a role in the cellular response to DNA double strand breaks induced by ionizing radiation. Loss of TPX2 leads to inordinately strong and transient accumulation of ionizing radiation-dependent Ser-139-phosphorylated Histone 2AX (γ-H2AX) at G0 and G1 phases of the cell cycle. This is accompanied by the formation of increased numbers of high intensity γ-H2AX ionizing radiation-induced foci. Conversely, cells overexpressing TPX2 have reduced levels of γ-H2AX after ionizing radiation. Consistent with a role for TPX2 in the DNA damage response, we found that the protein accumulates at DNA double strand breaks and associates with the mediator of DNA damage checkpoint 1 (MDC1) and the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase, both key regulators of γ-H2AX amplification. Pharmacologic inhibition or depletion of ATM or MDC1, but not of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), antagonizes the γ-H2AX phenotype caused by TPX2 depletion. Importantly, the regulation of γ-H2AX signals by TPX2 is not associated with apoptosis or the mitotic functions of TPX2. In sum, our study identifies a novel and the first nuclear function for TPX2 in the cellular responses to DNA damage. PMID:23045526

Three-dimensional chitin rings from body segments of a pet diplopod species: Characterization and protein interaction studies.

PubMed

Kaya, Murat; Mulerčikas, Povilas; Sargin, Idris; Kazlauskaitė, Sonata; Baublys, Vykintas; Akyuz, Bahar; Bulut, Esra; Tubelytė, Vaida

2016-11-01

Physicochemical characterization of new chitin isolates can provide valuable insights into designing of biomimetic materials. Chitin isolates with a definite three-dimensional (3D) structure can exhibit characteristics that distinguish them from other chitin specimens that are in form of powder or flakes without a definite and uniform shape. Herein, 3D chitin rings were produced from body segments of a diplopod (Archispirostreptus gigas) inhabiting tropical regions. This organism is cultured easily and can reach 38cm in length, which makes it a suitable source for isolation of chitin. The chitin rings were characterized via TGA, FT-IR, SEM and XRD analyses. Enzymatic digestion test with chitinase demonstrated that chitin isolates had high purity (digestion rate: 97.4%). The source organism had high chitin content; 21.02±2.23% on dry weight. Interactions of the chitin rings with bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein were studied under different conditions (pH: 4.0-8.0, chitin amount: 6-14mg, contact time: 30-360min, protein concentration: 0.2-1mg/mL). The highest BSA adsorption was observed at pH5.0 at 20°C. The adsorption equilibrium data exhibited a better fit to Langmuir adsorption and the pseudo-first order kinetic models. The findings presented here can be useful for further studies aiming to develop biocompatible and nontoxic biomaterials. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Redetection of the Ionospheric H3+ Signature of Saturn's "Ring Rain"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Donoghue, James; Moore, Luke; Connerney, John E. P.; Melin, Henrik; Stallard, Tom S.; Miller, Steve; Baines, Kevin H.

2017-12-01

In April 2011 Saturn's midlatitude ionospheric H3+ emissions were detected, exhibiting anomalous (nonsolar) H3+ latitudinal variations consistent with the transport of water from specific locations in Saturn's rings, known as "ring rain". These products, transported to the planet along the magnetic field, may help to explain the unusual pattern of peaks and troughs in electron densities discovered in Saturn's ionosphere by spacecraft flybys. In the present study, we analyzed H3+ emissions recorded on 23 April 2013, showing for the first time since the original detection that Saturn's midlatitude H3+ emissions are indeed heavily modified. Although the 2013 emissions are dimmer by almost a factor of 3.7, the latitudinal contrast is greater and uncertainties are lower. Increased H3+ intensities were found near planetocentric latitudes of 43°, 51°, and 63°, previously identified with sources at the inner edge of the B ring, A ring, and the orbit of Enceladus and associated E ring.

Differential expression of poplar sucrose nonfermenting1-related protein kinase 2 genes in response to abiotic stress and abscisic acid.

PubMed

Yu, Xiang; Takebayashi, Arika; Demura, Taku; Ohtani, Misato

2017-09-01

Knowledge on the responses of woody plants to abiotic stress can inform strategies to breed improved tree varieties and to manage tree species for environmental conservation and the production of lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, we examined the expression patterns of poplar (Populus trichocarpa) genes encoding members of the sucrose nonfermenting1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) family, which are core components of the abiotic stress response. The P. trichocarpa genome contains twelve SnRK2 genes (PtSnRK2.1- PtSnRK2.12) that can be divided into three subclasses (I-III) based on the structures of their encoded kinase domains. We found that PtSnRK2s are differentially expressed in various organs. In MS medium-grown plants, all of the PtSnRK2 genes were significantly upregulated in response to abscisic acid (ABA) treatment, whereas osmotic and salt stress treatments induced only some (four and seven, respectively) of the PtSnRK2 genes. By contrast, soil-grown plants showed increased expression of most PtSnRK2 genes under drought and salt treatments, but not under ABA treatment. In soil-grown plants, drought stress induced SnRK2 subclass II genes in all tested organs (leaves, stems, and roots), whereas subclass III genes tended to be upregulated in leaves only. These results suggest that the PtSnRK2 genes are involved in abiotic stress responses, are at least partially activated by ABA, and show organ-specific responses.

Modulation of Protein S-Nitrosylation by Isoprene Emission in Poplar.

PubMed

Vanzo, Elisa; Merl-Pham, Juliane; Velikova, Violeta; Ghirardo, Andrea; Lindermayr, Christian; Hauck, Stefanie M; Bernhardt, Jörg; Riedel, Katharina; Durner, Jörg; Schnitzler, Jörg-Peter

2016-04-01

Researchers have been examining the biological function(s) of isoprene in isoprene-emitting (IE) species for two decades. There is overwhelming evidence that leaf-internal isoprene increases the thermotolerance of plants and protects them against oxidative stress, thus mitigating a wide range of abiotic stresses. However, the mechanisms of abiotic stress mitigation by isoprene are still under debate. Here, we assessed the impact of isoprene on the emission of nitric oxide (NO) and the S-nitroso-proteome of IE and non-isoprene-emitting (NE) gray poplar (Populus × canescens) after acute ozone fumigation. The short-term oxidative stress induced a rapid and strong emission of NO in NE compared with IE genotypes. Whereas IE and NE plants exhibited under nonstressful conditions only slight differences in their S-nitrosylation pattern, the in vivo S-nitroso-proteome of the NE genotype was more susceptible to ozone-induced changes compared with the IE plants. The results suggest that the nitrosative pressure (NO burst) is higher in NE plants, underlining the proposed molecular dialogue between isoprene and the free radical NO Proteins belonging to the photosynthetic light and dark reactions, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, protein metabolism, and redox regulation exhibited increased S-nitrosylation in NE samples compared with IE plants upon oxidative stress. Because the posttranslational modification of proteins via S-nitrosylation often impacts enzymatic activities, our data suggest that isoprene indirectly regulates the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via the control of the S-nitrosylation level of ROS-metabolizing enzymes, thus modulating the extent and velocity at which the ROS and NO signaling molecules are generated within a plant cell. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Overtone spectroscopy of N2H+ molecular ions—application of cavity ring-down spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kálosi, Á.; Dohnal, P.; Shapko, D.; Roučka, Š.; Plašil, R.; Johnsen, R.; Glosík, J.

2017-10-01

A stationary afterglow apparatus in conjunction with a laser absorption cavity ring-down spectrometer has been employed to observe absorption lines in the P- and R-branches of the (200) <-- (000) and (2110) <-- (0110) vibrational bands of the N2H+ molecular ion as a part of an ongoing study of the electron-ion recombination of N2H+ in afterglow plasmas. The probed absorption lines lie in the near-infrared spectral region around 1580 nm. The observed transition wavenumbers were fitted to experimental accuracy and improved molecular constants for the (200) vibrational state were obtained. The employed experimental technique enables probing of the translational, rotational and vibrational temperature of the studied ions as well as the determination of the number densities of different quantum states of the ion in discharge and afterglow plasma.

Isoprene emission by poplar is not important for the feeding behaviour of poplar leaf beetles.

PubMed

Müller, Anna; Kaling, Moritz; Faubert, Patrick; Gort, Gerrit; Smid, Hans M; Van Loon, Joop J A; Dicke, Marcel; Kanawati, Basem; Schmitt-Kopplin, Philippe; Polle, Andrea; Schnitzler, Jörg-Peter; Rosenkranz, Maaria

2015-06-30

Chrysomela populi (poplar leaf beetle) is a common herbivore in poplar plantations whose infestation causes major economic losses. Because plant volatiles act as infochemicals, we tested whether isoprene, the main volatile organic compound (VOC) produced by poplars (Populus x canescens), affects the performance of C. populi employing isoprene emitting (IE) and transgenic isoprene non-emitting (NE) plants. Our hypothesis was that isoprene is sensed and affects beetle orientation or that the lack of isoprene affects plant VOC profiles and metabolome with consequences for C. populi feeding. Electroantennographic analysis revealed that C. populi can detect higher terpenes, but not isoprene. In accordance to the inability to detect isoprene, C. populi showed no clear preference for IE or NE poplar genotypes in the choice experiments, however, the beetles consumed a little bit less leaf mass and laid fewer eggs on NE poplar trees in field experiments. Slight differences in the profiles of volatile terpenoids between IE and NE genotypes were detected by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. Non-targeted metabolomics analysis by Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer revealed genotype-, time- and herbivore feeding-dependent metabolic changes both in the infested and adjacent undamaged leaves under field conditions. We show for the first time that C. populi is unable to sense isoprene. The detected minor differences in insect feeding in choice experiments and field bioassays may be related to the revealed changes in leaf volatile emission and metabolite composition between the IE and NE poplars. Overall our results indicate that lacking isoprene emission is of minor importance for C. populi herbivory under natural conditions, and that the lack of isoprene is not expected to change the economic losses in poplar plantations caused by C. populi infestation.

Ring-substituted 4-hydroxy-1H-quinolin-2-ones: preparation and biological activity.

PubMed

Jampilek, Josef; Musiol, Robert; Pesko, Matus; Kralova, Katarina; Vejsova, Marcela; Carroll, James; Coffey, Aidan; Finster, Jacek; Tabak, Dominik; Niedbala, Halina; Kozik, Violetta; Polanski, Jaroslaw; Csollei, Jozef; Dohnal, Jiri

2009-03-13

In the study, a series of twelve ring-substituted 4-hydroxy-1H-quinolin-2-one derivatives were prepared. The procedures for synthesis of the compounds are presented. The compounds were analyzed using RP-HPLC to determine lipophilicity and tested for their photosynthesis-inhibiting activity using spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts. All the synthesized compounds were also evaluated for antifungal activity using in vitro screening with eight fungal strains. For all the compounds, the relationships between the lipophilicity and the chemical structure of the studied compounds are discussed, as well as their structure-activity relationships (SAR).

Aging Behavior of the EPDM O-Rings in the H1616 Shipping Package

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Daugherty, W.; Stefek, T.; Skidmore, E.

The H1616 shipping package is used within the DOE complex for shipping tritium reservoirs. The annual recertification frequency can create logistical difficulties with other constraints on the timing of shipments; thus, a longer re-certification period is desirable. The ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) O-rings used in the H1616 shipping package are being aged and tested at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to provide a technical basis for extending the annual maintenance of the H1616 shipping package. H1616 EPDM O-rings are being aged at elevated temperature, and tested for degradation in mechanical properties, compression stress relaxation (CSR) behavior, and leakmore » performance. Mechanical properties of aged O-rings show significant degradation can occur, but an inert atmosphere (argon backfill) greatly reduces the rate of degradation. The CSR behavior of O-rings was evaluated in air at 79 to 177 °C. These collective data were used to develop a predictive model for extrapolation of CSR behavior to relevant service temperatures (<67 °C). O-rings were also aged in H1616 Containment Vessels (CV) in an inert atmosphere at 71 to 149 °C. The vessels are helium leak tested periodically to determine if they continue to remain leak-tight. The vessel tests provide a solid demonstration that the H1616 O-rings will remain leak-tight at temperatures up to 113 °C for up to approximately 2.3 years. Significantly longer periods of leak-tight service are expected at the lower temperatures actually experienced in service. The predictive model developed from the CSR data conservatively indicates a service life of ~5 years at 67 °C. Although the relationship between CSR behavior and leak-tight performance has not been established for this design, the CSR predictions for this O-ring are conservative relative to leak-tight performance. Based on the collective data developed to date, SRNL has recommended that the maintenance interval for the H1616 package

Atypical Thioredoxins in Poplar: The Glutathione-Dependent Thioredoxin-Like 2.1 Supports the Activity of Target Enzymes Possessing a Single Redox Active Cysteine1[W

PubMed Central

Chibani, Kamel; Tarrago, Lionel; Gualberto, José Manuel; Wingsle, Gunnar; Rey, Pascal; Jacquot, Jean-Pierre; Rouhier, Nicolas

2012-01-01

Plant thioredoxins (Trxs) constitute a complex family of thiol oxidoreductases generally sharing a WCGPC active site sequence. Some recently identified plant Trxs (Clot, Trx-like1 and -2, Trx-lilium1, -2, and -3) display atypical active site sequences with altered residues between the two conserved cysteines. The transcript expression patterns, subcellular localizations, and biochemical properties of some representative poplar (Populus spp.) isoforms were investigated. Measurements of transcript levels for the 10 members in poplar organs indicate that most genes are constitutively expressed. Using transient expression of green fluorescent protein fusions, Clot and Trx-like1 were found to be mainly cytosolic, whereas Trx-like2.1 was located in plastids. All soluble recombinant proteins, except Clot, exhibited insulin reductase activity, although with variable efficiencies. Whereas Trx-like2.1 and Trx-lilium2.2 were efficiently regenerated both by NADPH-Trx reductase and glutathione, none of the proteins were reduced by the ferredoxin-Trx reductase. Only Trx-like2.1 supports the activity of plastidial thiol peroxidases and methionine sulfoxide reductases employing a single cysteine residue for catalysis and using a glutathione recycling system. The second active site cysteine of Trx-like2.1 is dispensable for this reaction, indicating that the protein possesses a glutaredoxin-like activity. Interestingly, the Trx-like2.1 active site replacement, from WCRKC to WCGPC, suppresses its capacity to use glutathione as a reductant but is sufficient to allow the regeneration of target proteins employing two cysteines for catalysis, indicating that the nature of the residues composing the active site sequence is crucial for substrate selectivity/recognition. This study provides another example of the cross talk existing between the glutathione/glutaredoxin and Trx-dependent pathways. PMID:22523226

Diversity of arthropod community in transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystems.

PubMed

Zhang, D J; Lu, Z Y; Liu, J X; Li, C L; Yang, M S

2015-12-02

Poplar-cotton agro-ecosystems are the main agricultural planting modes of plain cotton fields in China. Here, we performed a systematic survey of the diversity and population of arthropod communities in four different combination of poplar-cotton eco-systems, including I) non-transgenic poplar and non-transgenic cotton fields; II) non-transgenic poplar and transgenic cotton fields [Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton]; III) Bt transgenic poplar (high insect resistant strain Pb29) and non-transgenic cotton; and IV) transgenic poplar and transgenic cotton fields, over a period of 3 years. Based on the statistical methods used to investigate community ecology, the effects of transgenic ecosystems on the whole structure of the arthropod community, on the structure of arthropods in the nutritive layer, and on the similarity of arthropod communities were evaluated. The main results were as follows: the transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystem has a stronger inhibitory effect on insect pests and has no impact on the structure of the arthropod community, and therefore, maintains the diversity of the arthropod community. The character index of the community indicated that the structure of the arthropod community of the transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystem was better than that of the poplar-cotton ecosystem, and that system IV had the best structure. As for the abundance of nutritional classes, the transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystem was also better than that of the non-transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystem. The cluster analysis and similarity of arthropod communities between the four different transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystems illustrated that the structure of the arthropod community excelled in the small sample of the transgenic poplar-cotton ecosystems.

The Effects of Hydrogen Band EMIC Waves on Ring Current H+ Ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhiqiang; Zhai, Hao; Gao, Zhuxiu

2017-12-01

Hydrogen band electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves have received much attention recently because they are found to frequently span larger spatial areas than the other band EMIC waves. Using test particle simulations, we study the nonlinear effects of hydrogen band EMIC waves on ring current H+ ions. A dimensionless parameter R is used to characterize the competition between wave-induced and adiabatic motions. The results indicate that there are three regimes of wave-particle interactions for typical 35 keV H+ ions at L = 5: diffusive (quasi-linear) behavior when αeq ≤ 35° (R ≥ 2.45), the nonlinear phase trapping when 35° < αeq < 50° (0.75 < R < 2.45), and both the nonlinear phase bunching and phase trapping when αeq ≥ 50° (R ≤ 0.75). The phase trapping can transport H+ ions toward large pitch angle, while the phase bunching has the opposite effect. The phase-trapped H+ ions can be significantly accelerated (from 35 keV to over 500 keV) in about 4 min and thus contribute to the formation of high energy components of ring current ions. The results suggest that the effect of hydrogen band EMIC waves is not ignorable in the nonlinear acceleration and resonance scattering of ring current H+ ions.

Comparative physiological and proteomic responses to drought stress in two poplar species originating from different altitudes.

PubMed

Yang, Fan; Wang, Yong; Miao, Ling-Feng

2010-08-01

Cuttings of Populus kangdingensis C. Wang et Tung and Populus cathayana Rehder were examined during a single growing season in a greenhouse for comparative analysis of their physiological and proteomic responses to drought stress. The said species originate from high and low altitudes, respectively, of the eastern Himalaya. Results revealed that the adaptive responses to drought stress vary between the two poplar species. As a consequence of drought stress, the stem height increment and leaf number increment are more significantly inhibited in P. cathayana compared with P. kangdingensis. On the other hand, in response to drought stress, more significant cellular damages such as reduction in leaf relative water content and CO(2) assimilation rate, increments in the contents of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide and downregulation or degradation of proteins related to photosynthesis occur in P. cathayana compared with P. kangdingensis. On the other hand, P. kangdingensis can cope better with the negative impact on the entire regulatory network. This includes more efficient increases in content of solute sugar, soluble protein and free proline and activities of antioxidant enzymes, as well as specific expressions of certain proteins related to protein processing, redox homeostasis and sugar metabolism. Morphological consequences as well as physiological and proteomic responses to drought stress between species revealed that P. kangdingensis originating from a high altitude manifest stronger drought adaptation than did P. cathayana originating from a low altitude. Functions of various proteins identified by proteomic experiment are related with physiological phenomena. Physiological and proteomic responses to drought stress in poplar may work cooperatively to establish a new cellular homeostasis, allowing poplar to develop a certain level of drought tolerance.

Pediatric renal cell carcinomas with Xp11.2 rearrangements are immunoreactive for hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins.

PubMed

Rakheja, Dinesh; Kapur, Payal; Tomlinson, Gail E; Margraf, Linda R

2005-01-01

Alveolar soft part sarcoma and pediatric renal cell carcinoma share a similar chromosomal abnormality, t(X;17)(p11.2;q25). Recently, it has been suggested that the inactivation of DNA mismatch repair genes hMLH1 and hMSH2 may play an additional role in the pathogenesis of alveolar soft part sarcoma. Immunohistochemical expression of the proteins hMLH1 and hMSH2 is indicative of the activation status of the corresponding genes. We performed immunohistochemistry for hMLH1 and hMSH2 in 4 cases of pediatric renal cell carcinomas with Xp11.2 rearrangements. All cases showed nuclear immunoreactivity for both proteins, although the staining was patchy. Our study demonstrates that inactivation of the DNA mismatch repair genes hMLH1 and hMSH2 does not appear to play a role in the tumorigenesis of pediatric renal cell carcinomas with Xp11.2 rearrangements.

Multi-level study of C3H2: The first interstellar hydrocarbon ring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madden, S. C.; Irvine, W. M.; Matthews, H. E.; Avery, L. W.

1986-01-01

Cyclic species in the interstellar medium have been searched for almost since the first detection of interstellar polyatomic molecules. Eleven different C3H2 rotational transitions were detected; 9 of which were studied in TMC-1, a nearby dark dust cloud, are shown. The 1 sub 10 yields 1 sub 01 and 2 sub 20 yields 2 sub 11 transitions were observed with the 43 m NRAO telescope, while the remaining transitions were detected with the 14 m antenna of the Five College Radio Observatory (FCRAO). The lines detected in TMC-1 have energies above the ground state ranging from 0.9 to 17.1 K and consist of both ortho and para species. Limited maps were made along the ridge for several of the transitions. The HC3N J = 2 yields 1 transition were mapped simultaneously with the C3H2 1 sub 10 yields 1 sub 01 line and therefore can compare the distribution of this ring with a carbon chain in TMC-1. C3H2 is distributed along a narrow ridge with a SE - NW extension which is slightly more extended than the HC2N J = 2 yields 1. Gaussian fits gives a FWHP extension of 8'5 for C3H2 while HC3N has a FWHP of 7'. The data show variations of the two velocity components along the ridge as a function of transition. Most of the transitions show a peak at the position of strongest HC3N emission while the 2 sub 21 yields 2 sub 10 transition shows a peak at the NH3 position.

Bioconversion of hybrid poplar to ethanol and co-products using an organosolv fractionation process: optimization of process yields.

PubMed

Pan, Xuejun; Gilkes, Neil; Kadla, John; Pye, Kendall; Saka, Shiro; Gregg, David; Ehara, Katsunobu; Xie, Dan; Lam, Dexter; Saddler, Jack

2006-08-05

An organosolv process involving extraction with hot aqueous ethanol has been evaluated for bioconversion of hybrid poplar to ethanol. The process resulted in fractionation of poplar chips into a cellulose-rich solids fraction, an ethanol organosolv lignin (EOL) fraction, and a water-soluble fraction containing hemicellulosic sugars, sugar breakdown products, degraded lignin, and other components. The influence of four independent process variables (temperature, time, catalyst dose, and ethanol concentration) on product yields was analyzed over a broad range using a small composite design and response surface methodology. Center point conditions for the composite design (180 degrees C, 60 min, 1.25% H(2)SO(4), and 60% ethanol), yielded a solids fraction containing approximately 88% of the cellulose present in the untreated poplar. Approximately 82% of the total cellulose in the untreated poplar was recovered as monomeric glucose after hydrolysis of the solids fraction for 24 h using a low enzyme loading (20 filter paper units of cellulase/g cellulose); approximately 85% was recovered after 48 h hydrolysis. Total recovery of xylose (soluble and insoluble) was equivalent to approximately 72% of the xylose present in untreated wood. Approximately 74% of the lignin in untreated wood was recovered as EOL. Other cooking conditions resulted in either similar or inferior product yields although the distribution of components between the various fractions differed markedly. Data analysis generated regression models that describe process responses for any combination of the four variables. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Yellow-Poplar Site Index Curves

Treesearch

Donald E. Beck

1962-01-01

Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) occurs naturally throughout the eastern and central United States from southern New England west to Michigan and south to Florida and Louisiana. Because of its wide occurrence, yellow-poplar grows under a variety of climatic, edaphic, and biotic conditions. Combinations of these different environmental...

Tandem Repeat Proteins Inspired By Squid Ring Teeth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pena-Francesch, Abdon

Proteins are large biomolecules consisting of long chains of amino acids that hierarchically assemble into complex structures, and provide a variety of building blocks for biological materials. The repetition of structural building blocks is a natural evolutionary strategy for increasing the complexity and stability of protein structures. However, the relationship between amino acid sequence, structure, and material properties of protein systems remains unclear due to the lack of control over the protein sequence and the intricacies of the assembly process. In order to investigate the repetition of protein building blocks, a recently discovered protein from squids is examined as an ideal protein system. Squid ring teeth are predatory appendages located inside the suction cups that provide a strong grasp of prey, and are solely composed of a group of proteins with tandem repetition of building blocks. The objective of this thesis is the understanding of sequence, structure and property relationship in repetitive protein materials inspired in squid ring teeth for the first time. Specifically, this work focuses on squid-inspired structural proteins with tandem repeat units in their sequence (i.e., repetition of alternating building blocks) that are physically cross-linked via beta-sheet structures. The research work presented here tests the hypothesis that, in these systems, increasing the number of building blocks in the polypeptide chain decreases the protein network defects and improves the material properties. Hence, the sequence, nanostructure, and properties (thermal, mechanical, and conducting) of tandem repeat squid-inspired protein materials are examined. Spectroscopic structural analysis, advanced materials characterization, and entropic elasticity theory are combined to elucidate the structure and material properties of these repetitive proteins. This approach is applied not only to native squid proteins but also to squid-inspired synthetic polypeptides

Investigation of podosome ring protein arrangement using localization microscopy images.

PubMed

Staszowska, Adela D; Fox-Roberts, Patrick; Foxall, Elizabeth; Jones, Gareth E; Cox, Susan

2017-02-15

Podosomes are adhesive structures formed on the plasma membrane abutting the extracellular matrix of macrophages, osteoclasts, and dendritic cells. They consist of an f-actin core and a ring structure composed of integrins and integrin-associated proteins. The podosome ring plays a major role in adhesion to the underlying extracellular matrix, but its detailed structure is poorly understood. Recently, it has become possible to study the nano-scale structure of podosome rings using localization microscopy. Unlike traditional microscopy images, localization microscopy images are reconstructed using discrete points, meaning that standard image analysis methods cannot be applied. Here, we present a pipeline for podosome identification, protein position calculation, and creating a podosome ring model for use with localization microscopy data. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Protein Equilibration through Somatic Ring Canals in Drosophila

PubMed Central

McLean, Peter F.; Cooley, Lynn

2013-01-01

Although intercellular bridges resulting from incomplete cytokinesis were discovered in somatic Drosophila tissues decades ago, the impact of these structures on intercellular communication and tissue biology is largely unknown. In this work, we demonstrate that the ~250 nm diameter somatic ring canals permit diffusion of cytoplasmic contents between connected cells and across mitotic clone boundaries, and enable the equilibration of protein between transcriptionally mosaic follicle cells in the Drosophila ovary. We obtained similar, though more restricted, results in the larval imaginal discs. Our work illustrates the lack of cytoplasmic autonomy in these tissues and suggests a role for somatic ring canals in promoting homogeneous protein expression within the tissue. PMID:23704373

Characterisation of zinc-binding domains of peroxisomal RING finger proteins using size exclusion chromatography/inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Koellensperger, Gunda; Daubert, Simon; Erdmann, Ralf; Hann, Stephan; Rottensteiner, Hanspeter

2007-11-01

We determined the zinc binding stoichiometry of peroxisomal RING finger proteins by measuring sulfur/metal ratios using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry coupled to size exclusion chromatography, a strategy that provides a fast and quantitative overview on the binding of metals in proteins. As a quality control, liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-time of flight-mass spectrometry was used to measure the molar masses of the intact proteins. The RING fingers of Pex2p, Pex10p, and Pex12p showed a stoichiometry of 2.0, 2.1, and 1.2 mol zinc/mol protein, respectively. Thus, Pex2p and Pex10p possess a typical RING domain with two coordinated zinc atoms, whereas that of Pex12p coordinates only a single zinc atom.

C2H2 type of zinc finger transcription factors in foxtail millet define response to abiotic stresses.

PubMed

Muthamilarasan, Mehanathan; Bonthala, Venkata Suresh; Mishra, Awdhesh Kumar; Khandelwal, Rohit; Khan, Yusuf; Roy, Riti; Prasad, Manoj

2014-09-01

C2H2 type of zinc finger transcription factors (TFs) play crucial roles in plant stress response and hormone signal transduction. Hence considering its importance, genome-wide investigation and characterization of C2H2 zinc finger proteins were performed in Arabidopsis, rice and poplar but no such study was conducted in foxtail millet which is a C4 Panicoid model crop well known for its abiotic stress tolerance. The present study identified 124 C2H2-type zinc finger TFs in foxtail millet (SiC2H2) and physically mapped them onto the genome. The gene duplication analysis revealed that SiC2H2s primarily expanded in the genome through tandem duplication. The phylogenetic tree classified these TFs into five groups (I-V). Further, miRNAs targeting SiC2H2 transcripts in foxtail millet were identified. Heat map demonstrated differential and tissue-specific expression patterns of these SiC2H2 genes. Comparative physical mapping between foxtail millet SiC2H2 genes and its orthologs of sorghum, maize and rice revealed the evolutionary relationships of C2H2 type of zinc finger TFs. The duplication and divergence data provided novel insight into the evolutionary aspects of these TFs in foxtail millet and related grass species. Expression profiling of candidate SiC2H2 genes in response to salinity, dehydration and cold stress showed differential expression pattern of these genes at different time points of stresses.

Yield of Unthinned Yellow-Poplar

Treesearch

Donald E. Beck; Lino Della-Bianca

1970-01-01

Cubic-foot and board-foot yields of unthinned yellow-poplar (Liriodendron Tulipiferi L.) stands are described in relation to stand age, site index, and number of trees per acre. The yield tables are based on analysis of diameter distributions and height-diameter relationships obtained from 141 natural, unthinned yellow-poplar stands in the...

The catalytic effects of H2CO3, CH3COOH, HCOOH and H2O on the addition reaction of CH2OO + H2O → CH2(OH)OOH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Tianlei; Lan, Xinguang; Wang, Rui; Roy, Soumendra; Qiao, Zhangyu; Lu, Yousong; Wang, Zhuqing

2018-07-01

The addition reaction of CH2OO + H2O → CH2(OH)OOH without and with X (X = H2CO3, CH3COOH and HCOOH) and H2O was studied at CCSD(T)/6-311+ G(3df,2dp)//B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,2p) level of theory. Our results show that X can catalyse CH2OO + H2O → CH2(OH)OOH reaction both by increasing the number of rings, and by adding the size of the ring in which ring enlargement by COOH moiety of X inserting into CH2OO...H2O is favourable one. Water-assisted CH2OO + H2O → CH2(OH)OOH can occur by H2O moiety of (H2O)2 or the whole (H2O)2 forming cyclic structure with CH2OO, where the latter form is more favourable. Because the concentration of H2CO3 is unknown, the influence of CH3COOH, HCOOH and H2O were calculated within 0-30 km altitude of the Earth's atmosphere. The results calculated within 0-5 km altitude show that H2O and HCOOH have obvious effect on enhancing the rate with the enhancement factors are, respectively, 62.47%-77.26% and 0.04%-1.76%. Within 5-30 km altitude, HCOOH has obvious effect on enhancing the title rate with the enhancement factor of 2.69%-98.28%. However, compared with the reaction of CH2OO + HCOOH, the rate of CH2OO...H2O + HCOOH is much slower.

Hybrid poplar pulpwood and lumber from a reclaimed strip-mine

Treesearch

Walter H. Davidson

1979-01-01

A 2-acre hybrid poplar planting on a reclaimed strip-mine was harvested at age 16. The commercial clearcut yielded 90 tons of pulpwood and 9,400 board feet of lumber. This is equal to a growth rate of approximately 2 cords per acre per year. Selected physical properties of the hybrid poplars were compared with those of other commercial eastern species.

Modulation of Protein S-Nitrosylation by Isoprene Emission in Poplar1

PubMed Central

Vanzo, Elisa; Velikova, Violeta; Ghirardo, Andrea; Lindermayr, Christian; Hauck, Stefanie M.; Riedel, Katharina; Durner, Jörg

2016-01-01

Researchers have been examining the biological function(s) of isoprene in isoprene-emitting (IE) species for two decades. There is overwhelming evidence that leaf-internal isoprene increases the thermotolerance of plants and protects them against oxidative stress, thus mitigating a wide range of abiotic stresses. However, the mechanisms of abiotic stress mitigation by isoprene are still under debate. Here, we assessed the impact of isoprene on the emission of nitric oxide (NO) and the S-nitroso-proteome of IE and non-isoprene-emitting (NE) gray poplar (Populus × canescens) after acute ozone fumigation. The short-term oxidative stress induced a rapid and strong emission of NO in NE compared with IE genotypes. Whereas IE and NE plants exhibited under nonstressful conditions only slight differences in their S-nitrosylation pattern, the in vivo S-nitroso-proteome of the NE genotype was more susceptible to ozone-induced changes compared with the IE plants. The results suggest that the nitrosative pressure (NO burst) is higher in NE plants, underlining the proposed molecular dialogue between isoprene and the free radical NO. Proteins belonging to the photosynthetic light and dark reactions, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, protein metabolism, and redox regulation exhibited increased S-nitrosylation in NE samples compared with IE plants upon oxidative stress. Because the posttranslational modification of proteins via S-nitrosylation often impacts enzymatic activities, our data suggest that isoprene indirectly regulates the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via the control of the S-nitrosylation level of ROS-metabolizing enzymes, thus modulating the extent and velocity at which the ROS and NO signaling molecules are generated within a plant cell. PMID:26850277

The plasmasheet H+ and O+ contribution on the storm time ring current

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mouikis, C.; Bingham, S.; Kistler, L. M.; Spence, H. E.; Gkioulidou, M.; Claudepierre, S. G.; Farrugia, C. J.

2015-12-01

The source population of the storm time ring current is the night side plasma sheet. We use Van Allen Probes and Cluster observations to determine the contribution of the convecting plasma sheet H+ and O+ particles in the storm time development of the ring current. Using the Volland-Stern model with a dipole magnetic field together with the identification of the observed energy cutoffs in the particle spectra, we specify the pressure contributed by H+ and O+ populations that are on open drift paths vs. the pressure contributed by the trapped populations, for different local times. We find that during the storm main phase most of the ring current pressure in the pre-midnight inner magnetosphere is contributed by particles on open drift paths that cause the development of a strong partial ring current that causes most of the main phase Dst drop. These particles can reach as deep as L~2 and their pressure compares to the local magnetic field pressure as deep as L~3. During the recovery phase, if these particles are not lost at the magnetopause, will become trapped and will contribute to the symmetric ring current.

A Field Trial of TCE Phytoremediation by Genetically Modified Poplars Expressing Cytochrome P450 2E1.

PubMed

Legault, Emily K; James, C Andrew; Stewart, Keith; Muiznieks, Indulis; Doty, Sharon L; Strand, Stuart E

2017-06-06

A controlled field study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of transgenic poplars for phytoremediation. Three hydraulically contained test beds were planted with 12 transgenic poplars, 12 wild type (WT) poplars, or left unplanted, and dosed with equivalent concentrations of trichloroethylene (TCE). Removal of TCE was enhanced in the transgenic tree bed, but not to the extent of the enhanced removal observed in laboratory studies. Total chlorinated ethene removal was 87% in the CYP2E1 bed, 85% in the WT bed, and 34% in the unplanted bed in 2012. Evapotranspiration of TCE from transgenic leaves was reduced by 80% and diffusion of TCE from transgenic stems was reduced by 90% compared to WT. Cis-dichloroethene and vinyl chloride levels were reduced in the transgenic tree bed. Chloride ion accumulated in the planted beds corresponding to the TCE loss, suggesting that contaminant dehalogenation was the primary loss fate.

Sulfate Metabolites of 4-Monochlorobiphenyl in Whole Poplar Plants

PubMed Central

Zhai, Guangshu; Lehmler, Hans-Joachim; Schnoor, Jerald L.

2013-01-01

4-Monochlorobiphenyl (PCB3) has been proven to be transformed into hydroxylated metabolites of PCB3 (OH-PCB3s) in whole poplar plants in our previous work. However, hydroxylated metabolites of PCBs, including OH-PCB3s, as the substrates of sulfotransferases have not been studied in many organisms including plants in vivo. Poplar (Populus deltoides × nigra, DN34) was used to investigate the further metabolism from OH-PCB3s to PCB3 sulfates because it is a model plant and one that is frequently utilized in phytoremediation. Results showed poplar plants could metabolize PCB3 into PCB3 sulfates during 25 day exposures. Three sulfate metabolites, including 2′-PCB3 sulfate, 3′-PCB3 sulfate and 4′-PCB3 sulfate, were identified in poplar roots and their concentrations increased in the roots from day 10 to day 25. The major products were 2′-PCB3 sulfate and 4′-PCB3 sulfate. However, the concentrations of PCB3 sulfates were much lower than those of OH-PCB3s in the roots, suggesting the sequential transformation of these hydroxylated PCB3 metabolites into PCB3 sulfates in whole poplars. In addition, 2′-PCB3 sulfate or 4′-PCB3 sulfate was also found in the bottom wood samples indicating some translocation or metabolism in woody tissue. Results suggested that OH-PCB3s were the substrates of sulfotransferases which catalyzed the formation of PCB3 sulfates in the metabolic pathway of PCB3. PMID:23215248

Enhancement of Biogas Yield of Poplar Leaf by High-Solid Codigestion with Swine Manure.

PubMed

Wangliang, Li; Zhikai, Zhang; Guangwen, Xu

2016-05-01

The aim of this work was to examine the improvement of anaerobic biodegradability of organic fractions of poplar leaf from codigestion with swine manure (SM), thus biogas yield and energy recovery. When poplar leaf was used as a sole substrate, the cumulative biogas yield was low, about 163 mL (g volatile solid (VS))(-1) after 45 days of digestion with a substrate/inoculum ratio of 2.5 and a total solid (TS) of 22 %. Under the same condition, the cumulative biogas yield of poplar leaf reached 321 mL (g VS)(-1) when SM/poplar leaf ratio was 2:5 (based on VS). The SM/poplar leaf ratio can determine C/N ratio of the cosubstrate and thus has significant influence on biogas yield. When the SM/poplar leaf ratio was 2:5, C/N ratio was calculated to be 27.02, and the biogas yield in 45 days of digestion was the highest. The semi-continuous digestion of poplar leaf was carried out with the organic loading rate of 1.25 and 1.88 g VS day(-1). The average daily biogas yield was 230.2 mL (g VS)(-1) and 208.4 mL (g VS)(-1). The composition analysis revealed that cellulose and hemicellulose contributed to the biogas production.

1-(2-Cyano­ethyl)-2-(2-pyrid­yl)-1H,3H-benzimidazol-3-ium perchlorate

PubMed Central

Li, Yan; Tang, Xiaoliang; Chen, Jiayu; Wu, Daxiang; Liu, Weisheng

2010-01-01

The title compound, C15H13N4 +·ClO4 −, comprises a nonplanar 1-(2-cyano­ethyl)-2-(2-pyrid­yl)-1H,3H-benzimidazol-3-ium cation [dihedral angle between the imidazole and pyridine rings = 22.5 (8)°] and a perchlorate anion. The cation is formed by protonation of the N atom of the benzimidazole ring. A charged N—H⋯O hydrogen bond connects the anion and cation, and inter­molecular C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N inter­actions contribute to the crystal packing. PMID:21579831

Research Update: Programmable tandem repeat proteins inspired by squid ring teeth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pena-Francesch, Abdon; Domeradzka, Natalia E.; Jung, Huihun; Barbu, Benjamin; Vural, Mert; Kikuchi, Yusuke; Allen, Benjamin D.; Demirel, Melik C.

2018-01-01

Cephalopods have evolved many interesting features that can serve as inspiration. Repetitive squid ring teeth (SRT) proteins from cephalopods exhibit properties such as strength, self-healing, and biocompatibility. These proteins have been engineered to design novel adhesives, self-healing textiles, and the assembly of 2d-layered materials. Compared to conventional polymers, repetitive proteins are easy to modify and can assemble in various morphologies and molecular architectures. This research update discusses the molecular biology and materials science of polypeptides inspired by SRT proteins, their properties, and perspectives for future applications.

Gaseous NO2 effects on stomatal behavior, photosynthesis and respiration of hybrid poplar leaves

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In this study, we used poplar as a model plant and investigated the effects of gaseous nitrogen dioxide (NO2, 4 microliter per liter) on stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, dark- and photorespiration of Populus alba x Populus berolinensis hybrid leaves using the photosynthesis system and scanning...

Atypical protein disulfide isomerases (PDI): Comparison of the molecular and catalytic properties of poplar PDI-A and PDI-M with PDI-L1A

PubMed Central

Selles, Benjamin; Zannini, Flavien; Couturier, Jérémy; Jacquot, Jean-Pierre

2017-01-01

Protein disulfide isomerases are overwhelmingly multi-modular redox catalysts able to perform the formation, reduction or isomerisation of disulfide bonds. We present here the biochemical characterization of three different poplar PDI isoforms. PDI-A is characterized by a single catalytic Trx module, the so-called a domain, whereas PDI-L1a and PDI-M display an a-b-b’-a’ and a°-a-b organisation respectively. Their activities have been tested in vitro using purified recombinant proteins and a series of model substrates as insulin, NADPH thioredoxin reductase, NADP malate dehydrogenase (NADP-MDH), peroxiredoxins or RNase A. We demonstrated that PDI-A exhibited none of the usually reported activities, although the cysteines of the WCKHC active site signature are able to form a disulfide with a redox midpoint potential of -170 mV at pH 7.0. The fact that it is able to bind a [Fe2S2] cluster upon Escherichia coli expression and anaerobic purification might indicate that it does not have a function in dithiol-disulfide exchange reactions. The two other proteins were able to catalyze oxidation or reduction reactions, PDI-L1a being more efficient in most cases, except that it was unable to activate the non-physiological substrate NADP-MDH, in contrast to PDI-M. To further evaluate the contribution of the catalytic domains of PDI-M, the dicysteinic motifs have been independently mutated in each a domain. The results indicated that the two a domains seem interconnected and that the a° module preferentially catalyzed oxidation reactions whereas the a module catalyzed reduction reactions, in line with the respective redox potentials of -170 mV and -190 mV at pH 7.0. Overall, these in vitro results illustrate that the number and position of a and b domains influence the redox properties and substrate recognition (both electron donors and acceptors) of PDI which contributes to understand why this protein family expanded along evolution. PMID:28362814

Biochemical response of hybrid black poplar tissue culture (Populus × canadensis) on water stress.

PubMed

Popović, B M; Štajner, D; Ždero-Pavlović, R; Tari, I; Csiszár, J; Gallé, Á; Poór, P; Galović, V; Trudić, B; Orlović, S

2017-05-01

In this study, poplar tissue culture (hybrid black poplar, M1 genotype) was subjected to water stress influenced by polyethyleneglycol 6000 (100 and 200 mOsm PEG 6000). The aim of the research was to investigate the biochemical response of poplar tissue culture on water deficit regime. Antioxidant status was analyzed including antioxidant enzymes, superoxide-dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), guiacol-peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione-reductase, reduced glutathione, total phenol content, Ferric reducing antioxidant power and DPPH radical antioxidant power. Polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine-ammonium-lyase were determined as enzymatic markers of polyphenol metabolism. Among oxidative stress parameters lipid peroxidation, carbonyl-proteins, hydrogen-peroxide, reactive oxygen species, nitric-oxide and peroxynitrite were determined. Proline, proline-dehydrogenase and glycinebetaine were measured also as parameters of water stress. Cell viability is finally determined as a biological indicator of osmotic stress. It was found that water stress induced reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and lipid peroxidation in leaves of hybrid black poplar and reduced cell viability. Antioxidant enzymes including SOD, GPx, CAT and GSH-Px were induced but total phenol content and antioxidant capacity were reduced by PEG 6000 mediated osmotic stress. The highest biochemical response and adaptive reaction was the increase of proline and GB especially by 200 mOsm PEG. While long term molecular analysis will be necessary to fully address the poplar potentials for water stress adaptation, our results on hybrid black poplar suggest that glycine-betaine, proline and PDH enzyme might be the most important markers of poplar on water stress and that future efforts should be focused on these markers and strategies to enhance their concentration in poplar.

Two potato proteins, including a novel RING finger protein (HIP1), interact with the potyviral multifunctional protein HCpro.

PubMed

Guo, Deyin; Spetz, Carl; Saarma, Mart; Valkonen, Jari P T

2003-05-01

Potyviral helper-component proteinase (HCpro) is a multifunctional protein exerting its cellular functions in interaction with putative host proteins. In this study, cellular protein partners of the HCpro encoded by Potato virus A (PVA) (genus Potyvirus) were screened in a potato leaf cDNA library using a yeast two-hybrid system. Two cellular proteins were obtained that interact specifically with PVA HCpro in yeast and in the two in vitro binding assays used. Both proteins are encoded by single-copy genes in the potato genome. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences revealed that one (HIP1) of the two HCpro interactors is a novel RING finger protein. The sequence of the other protein (HIP2) showed no resemblance to the protein sequences available from databanks and has known biological functions.

Overexpression of Poplar Pyrabactin Resistance-Like Abscisic Acid Receptors Promotes Abscisic Acid Sensitivity and Drought Resistance in Transgenic Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Yu, Jingling; Yang, Lei; Liu, Xiaobing; Tang, Renjie; Wang, Yuan; Ge, Haiman; Wu, Mengting; Zhang, Jiang; Zhao, Fugeng; Luan, Sheng; Lan, Wenzhi

2016-01-01

Drought stress is an important environmental factor limiting productivity of plants, especially fast growing species with high water consumption like poplar. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a phytohormone that positively regulates seed dormancy and drought resistance. The PYR1 (Pyrabactin Resistance 1)/ PYRL (PYR-Like)/ RCAR (Regulatory Component of ABA Receptor) (PYR/PYL/RCAR) ABA receptor family has been identified and widely characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, their functions in poplars remain unknown. Here, we report that 2 of 14 PYR/PYL/RCAR orthologues in poplar (Populus trichocarpa) (PtPYRLs) function as a positive regulator of the ABA signal transduction pathway. The Arabidopsis transient expression and yeast two-hybrid assays showed the interaction among PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5, a clade A protein phosphatase 2C, and a SnRK2, suggesting that a core signalling complex for ABA signaling pathway exists in poplars. Phenotypic analysis of PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5 transgenic Arabidopsis showed that these two genes positively regulated the ABA responses during the seed germination. More importantly, the overexpression of PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5 substantially improved ABA sensitivity and drought stress tolerance in transgenic plants. In summary, we comprehensively uncovered the properties of PtPYRL1 and PtPYRL5, which might be good target genes to genetically engineer drought-Resistant plants.

Multiple antibacterial histone H2B proteins are expressed in tissues of American oyster.

PubMed

Seo, Jung-Kil; Stephenson, Jeana; Noga, Edward J

2011-03-01

We have previously identified a histone H2B isomer (cvH2B-1) from tissue extracts of the bivalve mollusk, the American oyster (Crassostrea virginica). In this paper, we isolate an additional three antibacterial proteins from acidified gill extract by preparative acid-urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Extraction of these proteins from tissue was best accomplished by briefly boiling the tissues in a weak acetic acid solution. Addition of protease inhibitors while boiling resulted in somewhat lower yields, with one protein being totally absent with this method. Via mass spectrometry, the masses of one of these purified proteins was 13607.0Da (peak 2), which is consistent with the molecular weight of histone H2B. In addition, via western-blotting using anti-calf histone H2B antibody, all three proteins were positive and were thus named cvH2B-2, cvH2B-3 and cvH2B-4. The antibacterial activity of cvH2B-2 was similar to that of cvH2B-1, with activity against a Gram-positive bacterium (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis; minimum effective concentration [MEC] 52-57μg/mL) but inactive against Staphylococcus aureus (MEC>250μg/mL). However, both proteins had relatively potent activity against the Gram-negative oyster pathogen Vibrio parahemolyticus (MEC 11.5-14μg/mL) as well as the human pathogen Vibrio vulnificus (MEC 21.3-25.3μg/mL). cvH2B-3 and cvH2B-4 also had similarly strong activity against Vibrio vulnificus. These data provide further evidence for the antimicrobial function of histone H2B isomers in modulating bacterial populations in oyster tissues. The combined estimated concentrations of these histone H2B isomers were far above the inhibitory concentrations for the tested vibrios, including human pathogens. Our results indicate that the highly conserved histone proteins might be important components not only of immune defenses in oysters but have the potential to influence the abundance of a

Structure of the Z Ring-associated Protein, ZapD, Bound to the C-terminal Domain of the Tubulin-like Protein, FtsZ, Suggests Mechanism of Z Ring Stabilization through FtsZ Cross-linking.

PubMed

Schumacher, Maria A; Huang, Kuo-Hsiang; Zeng, Wenjie; Janakiraman, Anuradha

2017-03-03

Cell division in most bacteria is mediated by the tubulin-like FtsZ protein, which polymerizes in a GTP-dependent manner to form the cytokinetic Z ring. A diverse repertoire of FtsZ-binding proteins affects FtsZ localization and polymerization to ensure correct Z ring formation. Many of these proteins bind the C-terminal domain (CTD) of FtsZ, which serves as a hub for FtsZ regulation. FtsZ ring-associated proteins, ZapA-D (Zaps), are important FtsZ regulatory proteins that stabilize FtsZ assembly and enhance Z ring formation by increasing lateral assembly of FtsZ protofilaments, which then form the Z ring. There are no structures of a Zap protein bound to FtsZ; therefore, how these proteins affect FtsZ polymerization has been unclear. Recent data showed ZapD binds specifically to the FtsZ CTD. Thus, to obtain insight into the ZapD-CTD interaction and how it may mediate FtsZ protofilament assembly, we determined the Escherichia coli ZapD-FtsZ CTD structure to 2.67 Å resolution. The structure shows that the CTD docks within a hydrophobic cleft in the ZapD helical domain and adopts an unusual structure composed of two turns of helix separated by a proline kink. FtsZ CTD residue Phe-377 inserts into the ZapD pocket, anchoring the CTD in place and permitting hydrophobic contacts between FtsZ residues Ile-374, Pro-375, and Leu-378 with ZapD residues Leu-74, Trp-77, Leu-91, and Leu-174. The structural findings were supported by mutagenesis coupled with biochemical and in vivo studies. The combined data suggest that ZapD acts as a molecular cross-linking reagent between FtsZ protofilaments to enhance FtsZ assembly. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Fluorescent protein Dendra2 as a ratiometric genetically encoded pH-sensor.

PubMed

Pakhomov, Alexey A; Martynov, Vladimir I; Orsa, Alexander N; Bondarenko, Alena A; Chertkova, Rita V; Lukyanov, Konstantin A; Petrenko, Alexander G; Deyev, Igor E

2017-12-02

Fluorescent protein Dendra2 is a monomeric GFP-like protein that belongs to the group of Kaede-like photoconvertible fluorescent proteins with irreversible photoconversion from a green- to red-emitting state when exposed to violet-blue light. In an acidic environment, photoconverted Dendra2 turns green due to protonation of the phenolic group of the chromophore with pKa of about 7.5. Thus, photoconverted form of Dendra2 can be potentially used as a ratiometric pH-sensor in the physiological pH range. However, incomplete photoconversion makes ratiometric measurements irreproducible when using standard filter sets. Here, we describe the method to detect fluorescence of only photoconverted Dendra2 form, but not nonconverted green Dendra2. We show that the 350 nm excitation light induces solely the fluorescence of photoconverted protein. By measuring the red to green fluorescence ratio, we determined intracellular pH in live CHO and HEK 293 cells. Thus, Dendra2 can be used as a novel ratiometric genetically encoded pH sensor with emission maxima in the green-red spectral region, which is suitable for application in live cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Observations on a hybrid poplar test planting in West Virginia

Treesearch

Arthur R. Eschner

1960-01-01

Hybrid poplars, crosses between European and American Aigeiros poplars, have been grown in Europe for about 200 years. The rapid growth and high productivity of some of these hybrids on sites to which they are adapted has stimulated interest in poplar growing in this country. And demand for these poplars is developing in many parts of the United States.

ITS2 sequence-structure phylogeny reveals diverse endophytic Pseudocercospora fungi on poplars.

PubMed

Yan, Dong-Hui; Gao, Qian; Sun, Xiaoming; Song, Xiaoyu; Li, Hongchang

2018-04-01

For matching the new fungal nomenclature to abolish pleomorphic names for a fungus, a genus Pseudocercospora s. str. was suggested to host holomorphic Pseudocercosproa fungi. But the Pseudocercosproa fungi need extra phylogenetic loci to clarify their taxonomy and diversity for their existing and coming species. Internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) secondary structures have been promising in charactering species phylogeny in plants, animals and fungi. In present study, a conserved model of ITS2 secondary structures was confirmed on fungi in Pseudocercospora s. str. genus using RNAshape program. The model has a typical eukaryotic four-helix ITS2 secondary structure. But a single U base occurred in conserved motif of U-U mismatch in Helix 2, and a UG emerged in UGGU motif in Helix 3 to Pseudocercospora fungi. The phylogeny analyses based on the ITS2 sequence-secondary structures with compensatory base change characterizations are able to delimit more species for Pseudocercospora s. str. than phylogenic inferences of traditional multi-loci alignments do. The model was employed to explore the diversity of endophytic Pseudocercospora fungi in poplar trees. The analysis results also showed that endophytic Pseudocercospora fungi were diverse in species and evolved a specific lineage in poplar trees. This work suggested that ITS2 sequence-structures could become as additionally significant loci for species phylogenetic and taxonomic studies on Pseudocerospora fungi, and that Pseudocercospora endophytes could be important roles to Pseudocercospora fungi's evolution and function in ecology.

A Coffee Ring Aptasensor for Rapid Protein Detection

PubMed Central

Wen, Jessica T.; Ho, Chih-Ming; Lillehoj, Peter B.

2013-01-01

We introduce a new biosensing platform for rapid protein detection that combines one of the simplest methods for biomolecular concentration, coffee ring formation, with a sensitive aptamer-based optical detection scheme. In this approach, aptamer beacons are utilized for signal transduction where a fluorescence signal is emitted in the presence of the target molecule. Signal amplification is achieved by concentrating aptamer-target complexes within liquid droplets, resulting in the formation of coffee ring “spots”. Surfaces with various chemical coatings were utilized to investigate the correlation between surface hydrophobicity, concentration efficiency and signal amplification. Based on our results, we found that the increase in coffee ring diameter with larger droplet volumes is independent of surface hydrophobicity. Furthermore, we show that highly hydrophobic surfaces produce enhanced particle concentration, via coffee ring formation, resulting in signal intensities 6-fold greater than those on hydrophilic surfaces. To validate this biosensing platform for the detection of clinical samples, we detected α-thrombin in human serum and 4x diluted whole blood. Based on our results, coffee ring spots produced detection signals 40x larger than samples in liquid droplets. Additionally, this biosensor exhibits a lower limit of detection of 2 ng/mL (54 pM) in serum, and 4 ng/mL (105 pM) in blood. Based on its simplicity and high performance, this platform demonstrates immense potential as an inexpensive diagnostic tool for the detection of disease biomarkers, particularly for use in developing countries that lack the resources and facilities required for conventional biodetection practices. PMID:23540796

Properties and utilization of poplar wood

Treesearch

John J. Balatinecz; David E. Kretschmann

2001-01-01

Hybrid poplars are fast-growing, moisture-loving, full-sun-loving large trees that can be a rapid source of wood fiber. With the introduction of waferboard, oriented strandboard (OSB), and laminated strand lumber (LSL), aspen utilization has dramatically increased. Indigenous and hybrid poplars, however, present their own challenges, such as high discoloration...

Energy partitioning and surface resistance of a poplar plantation in northern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, M.; Zhang, Z.; Noormets, A.; Fang, X.; Zha, T.; Zhou, J.; Sun, G.; McNulty, S. G.; Chen, J.

2015-07-01

Poplar (Populus sp.) plantations have been, on the one hand, broadly used in northern China for urban greening, combating desertification, as well as for paper and wood production. On the other hand, such plantations have been questioned occasionally for their possible negative impacts on water availability due to the higher water-use nature of poplar trees compared with other tree species in water-limited dryland regions. To further understand the acclimation of poplar species to semiarid environments and to evaluate the potential impacts of these plantations on the broader context of the region's water supply, we examine the variability of bulk resistance parameters and energy partitioning in a poplar (Populus euramericana cv. "74/76") plantation located in northern China over a 4-year period, encompassing both dry and wet conditions. The partitioning of available energy to latent heat flux (LE) decreased from 0.62 to 0.53 under mediated meteorological drought by irrigation applications. A concomitant increase in sensible heat flux (H) resulted in the increase of a Bowen ratio from 0.83 to 1.57. Partial correlation analysis indicated that surface resistance (Rs) normalized by leaf area index (LAI; Rs:LAI) increased by 50 % under drought conditions and was the dominant factor controlling the Bowen ratio. Furthermore, Rs was the main factor controlling LE during the growing season, even in wet years, as indicated by the decoupling coefficient (Ω = 0.45 and 0.39 in wet and dry years, respectively). Rs was also a major regulator of the LE / LEeq ratio, which decreased from 0.81 in wet years to 0.68 in dry years. All physiological and bioclimatological metrics indicated that the water demands of the poplar plantation were greater than the amount available through precipitation, highlighting the poor match of a water-intensive species like poplar for this water-limited region.

N(4)-Methyl-N(4)-(2-methylphenyl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine-4,6-diamine-ethanol-hydrazine (1/0.865/0.135): hydrogen-bonded ribbons containing four independent ring types.

PubMed

Trilleras, Jorge; Quiroga, Jairo; Cobo, Justo; Glidewell, Christopher

2009-06-01

N(4)-Methyl-N(4)-(2-methylphenyl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine-4,6-diamine crystallizes from ethanol as a mixed solvate, C(13)H(14)N(6).0.865C(2)H(6)O.0.135N(2)H(4), (I), where the hydrazine has been carried through from the initial preparation. Within the heterocyclic component, the 2-methylphenyl substituent is disordered over two sets of sites. There is an intramolecular C-H...pi(arene) hydrogen bond, which may control the molecular conformation of the heterocycle. The heterocyclic molecules are linked by two independent N-H...N hydrogen bonds in a chain containing two types of R(2)(2)(8) ring. The ethanol component is linked to this chain by a combination of O-H...N and N-H...O hydrogen bonds and the hydrazine component by two N-H...N hydrogen bonds, so generating two R(3)(3)(9) rings and thus forming a ribbon containing four distinct ring types.

Dimension yields from yellow-poplar lumber

Treesearch

R. C. Gilmore; J. D. Danielson

1984-01-01

The available supply of yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), its potential for new uses, and its continuing importance to the furniture industry have created a need to accumulate additional information about this species. As an aid to better utilization of this species, charts for determining cutting stock yields from yellow poplar lumber are presented for each...

Progress in developing disease control strategies for hybrid poplars

Treesearch

Michael E. Ostry

2000-01-01

Hybrid poplars are being grown throughout many regions of the world for purposes including the production of fiber and energy, ornamental landscape plantings, and soil stabilization. Disease has often been responsible for planting failures resulting in poplars being labeled the universal host to many damaging pathogens. However, many of the poplar species and their...

Growth of five hybrid poplar genotypes exposed to interacting elevated CO2 and O3

Treesearch

R.E. Dickson; M.D. Coleman; D.E. Riemenschneider; J.G. Isebrands; G.D. Hogan; D.F. Karnosky

1998-01-01

A wide variety of hybrid poplar clones are being introduced for intensive culture biomass production, but the potential clonal or genotypic response to increasing tropospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), and their interactions are unknown. To study these effects, we exposed five different hybrid Populus...

Link between immunoexpression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins and clinical-epidemiological aspects of actinic cheilitis*

PubMed Central

Sarmento, Dmitry José de Santana; Godoy, Gustavo Pina; Miguel, Márcia Cristina da Costa; da Silveira, Éricka Janine Dantas

2016-01-01

Background The studies found in the literature associate the immunoexpression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins with histologic aspects, but do not correlate it with clinical and epidemiological data. Objective To evaluate the immunoexpression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 in actinic cheilitis, correlating it with clinical characteristics. Methods We analyzed 40 cases. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses were performed. The following clinical variables were evaluated: gender, age range, ethnicity, clinical aspect and occupational sunlight exposure. Statistical evaluation included the Student t-test, while the significance level was set at 5%. Results Greater immunoexpression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 was observed in females, individuals aged over 40, and mixed-race/black patients. Furthermore, the immunoexpression of these proteins was greater in actinic cheilitis with a white-colored appearance and in patients without occupational sunlight exposure. No statistical differences were observed for the variables studied. Conclusion This study uncovered variations of hMLH1 and hMSH2 protein expression upon evaluation of clinical aspects in actinic cheilitis. PMID:27579741

Link between immunoexpression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins and clinical-epidemiological aspects of actinic cheilitis.

PubMed

Sarmento, Dmitry José de Santana; Godoy, Gustavo Pina; Miguel, Márcia Cristina da Costa; Silveira, Éricka Janine Dantas da

2016-01-01

The studies found in the literature associate the immunoexpression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins with histologic aspects, but do not correlate it with clinical and epidemiological data. To evaluate the immunoexpression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 in actinic cheilitis, correlating it with clinical characteristics. We analyzed 40 cases. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses were performed. The following clinical variables were evaluated: gender, age range, ethnicity, clinical aspect and occupational sunlight exposure. Statistical evaluation included the Student t-test, while the significance level was set at 5%. Greater immunoexpression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 was observed in females, individuals aged over 40, and mixed-race/black patients. Furthermore, the immunoexpression of these proteins was greater in actinic cheilitis with a white-colored appearance and in patients without occupational sunlight exposure. No statistical differences were observed for the variables studied. This study uncovered variations of hMLH1 and hMSH2 protein expression upon evaluation of clinical aspects in actinic cheilitis.

Environmental applications of poplars and willows

Treesearch

J.G. Isebrands; P. Aronsson; M. Carlson; R. Ceulemans; M. Coleman; N. Dickinson; J. Dimitriou; S. Doty; E. Gardiner; K. Heinsoo; J.D. Johnson; Y.B. Koo; J. Kort; J. Kuzovkina; L. Licht; A.R. McCracken; I. McIvor; P. Mertens; K. Perttu; D. Riddell-Black; B. Robins; G. Scarascia-Mugnozza; W.R. Schroeder; John Stanturf; T.A. Volk; M. Weih

2014-01-01

Poplars and willows have been planted for environmental purposes for millennia. There are reports that poplars were planted to improve the human environment 4000 years ago in the third dynasty of Ur, for streamside stabilization 2000 years ago in what is now the south-western USA by native North Americans and for urban amenities by the early Chinese dynasties (see...

RING-type E3 ligases: Master manipulators of E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes and ubiquitination

PubMed Central

Metzger, Meredith B.; Pruneda, Jonathan N.; Klevit, Rachel E.; Weissman, Allan M.

2013-01-01

RING finger domain and RING finger-like ubiquitin ligases (E3s), such as U-box proteins, constitute the vast majority of known E3s. RING-type E3s function together with ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s) to mediate ubiquitination and are implicated in numerous cellular processes. In part because of their importance in human physiology and disease, these proteins and their cellular functions represent an intense area of study. Here we review recent advances in RING-type E3 recognition of substrates, their cellular regulation, and their varied architecture. Additionally, recent structural insights into RING-type E3 function, with a focus on important interactions with E2s and ubiquitin, are reviewed. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Ubiquitin-Proteasome System. PMID:23747565

Effect of acid mist and air pollutants on yellow-poplar seedling height and leaf growth

Treesearch

Leon S. Dochinger; Keith F. Jensen; Keith F. Jensen

1985-01-01

One-year-old yellow-poplar seedlings were treated with acid mist at pH 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 either alone or in combination with 0.1 ppm 03, S02, and NO2 or NO2 plus S02. After 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, height, leaf area, and leaf and new shoot weight were determined and growth analysis variables calculated. Height, leaf area, and dry weight decreased with...

2,3-Dimethyl-6-nitro-2H-indazole

PubMed Central

Chen, Yan; Fang, Zheng; Wei, Ping

2009-01-01

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C9H9N3O2, the indazole ring system is almost planar [maximum deviation = 0.019 (3) Å for the C atom bearing the nitro group]. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions link the mol­ecules into centrosymmetric dimers, forming R 2 2(18) ring motifs. Aromatic π–π contacts between indazole rings [centroid–centroid distances = 3.632 (1) and 3.705 (1) Å] may further stabilize the structure. PMID:21583483

[Spatio-temporal characteristics of the expansion of poplar plantation in West Dongting Lake wetland, China.

PubMed

Jing, Lei; Lyu, Cai; Zhou, Yan; Zuo, Ao Jie; Lei, Guang Chun

2016-07-01

The rapid expansion of poplar plantation and its impacts on the wetland ecosystem have become a critical issue in West Dongting Lake ecosystem management. In the study, we explored the spatio-temporal characteristics of poplar plantation distribution in West Dongting Lake from 2000-2014 using Landsat imagery, topographic and hydrological data. Results showed that the area of the poplar plantation increased from 3233.5 hm 2 to 10915.6 hm 2 during the period of 2000 to 2011 (i.e. mean growth rate was 698.4 hm 2 ·a -1 ), and the highest growth rate happened during the period of 2004 to 2007 (1000.6 hm 2 ·a -1 ). Then, from 2011 to 2014, the expansion rate recorded a net loss, with the total poplar plantation area decreasing to 10153.1 hm 2 in 2014. Reed marsh, open water and mudflat, and wet meadows contributed to the expansion of poplar plantation, which accounted for 41.8%, 37.0% and 21.2%, respectively. Failure policy incentives, as well as the market need for economic interests were the key drivers of the popular plantation expansion, and meanwhile, operation of the Three Gorges Dam that lowered down the flooding water level, as well as the sediment deposition within the lake bed offered favorable environment for popular tree growth. The project of "returning forest to wetland" after 2013 was the main reason for the decreased poplar plantation area in 2014.

Numerical Analysis of the Bending Properties of Cathay Poplar Glulam

PubMed Central

Gao, Ying; Wu, Yuxuan; Zhu, Xudong; Zhu, Lei; Yu, Zhiming; Wu, Yong

2015-01-01

This paper presents the formulae and finite element analysis models for predicting the Modulus of Elastic (MOE) and Modulus of Rupture (MOR) of Cathay poplar finger-jointed glulam. The formula of the MOE predicts the MOE of Cathay poplar glulam glued with one-component polyurethane precisely. Three formulae are used to predict the MOR, and Equation (12) predicts the MOR of Cathay poplar glulam precisely. The finite element analysis simulation results of both the MOE and MOR are similar to the experimental results. The predicted results of the finite element analysis are shown to be more accurate than those of the formulae, because the finite element analysis considers the glue layers, but the formulae do not. Three types of typical failure modes due to bending were summarized. The bending properties of Cathay poplar glulam were compared to those of Douglas fir glulam. The results show that Cathay poplar glulam has a lower stiffness, but a marginally higher strength. One-component polyurethane adhesive is shown to be more effective than resorcinol formaldehyde resin adhesive for Cathay poplar glulam. This study shows that Cathay poplar has the potential to be a glulam material in China. PMID:28793619

Methylation of microRNA genes regulates gene expression in bisexual flower development in andromonoecious poplar

PubMed Central

Song, Yuepeng; Tian, Min; Ci, Dong; Zhang, Deqiang

2015-01-01

Previous studies showed sex-specific DNA methylation and expression of candidate genes in bisexual flowers of andromonoecious poplar, but the regulatory relationship between methylation and microRNAs (miRNAs) remains unclear. To investigate whether the methylation of miRNA genes regulates gene expression in bisexual flower development, the methylome, microRNA, and transcriptome were examined in female and male flowers of andromonoecious poplar. 27 636 methylated coding genes and 113 methylated miRNA genes were identified. In the coding genes, 64.5% of the methylated reads mapped to the gene body region; by contrast, 60.7% of methylated reads in miRNA genes mainly mapped in the 5′ and 3′ flanking regions. CHH methylation showed the highest methylation levels and CHG showed the lowest methylation levels. Correlation analysis showed a significant, negative, strand-specific correlation of methylation and miRNA gene expression (r=0.79, P <0.05). The methylated miRNA genes included eight long miRNAs (lmiRNAs) of 24 nucleotides and 11 miRNAs related to flower development. miRNA172b might play an important role in the regulation of bisexual flower development-related gene expression in andromonoecious poplar, via modification of methylation. Gynomonoecious, female, and male poplars were used to validate the methylation patterns of the miRNA172b gene, implying that hyper-methylation in andromonoecious and gynomonoecious poplar might function as an important regulator in bisexual flower development. Our data provide a useful resource for the study of flower development in poplar and improve our understanding of the effect of epigenetic regulation on genes other than protein-coding genes. PMID:25617468

A sensitive method for measuring protein turnover based on the measurement of 2-3H-labelled amino acids in protein.

PubMed Central

Humphrey, T J; Davies, D D

1976-01-01

A method for measuring the rate of protein degradation is described. The method measures the change in 2-3H content of protein with time by racemization of the protein hydrolysate with acetic anhydride. The 3H on C-2 of amino acids is stable in proteins but becomes labile, owing to the action of transaminases, once the amino acids are released by proteolysis. The specific measurement of 2-3H in amino acids largely overcomes problems due to compartmentation and isotope recycling and evidence to support this claim is presented. Values for the half-life of Lemna minor (duckweed) protein determined by the new method are compared with values obtained by other methods. PMID:949338

Quantitative Measurements of HO2 and other products of n-butane oxidation (H2O2, H2O, CH2O, and C2H4) at elevated temperatures by direct coupling of a jet-stirred reactor with sampling nozzle and cavity ring-down spectroscopy (cw-CRDS).

PubMed

Djehiche, Mokhtar; Le Tan, Ngoc Linh; Jain, Chaithanya D; Dayma, Guillaume; Dagaut, Philippe; Chauveau, Christian; Pillier, Laure; Tomas, Alexandre

2014-11-26

For the first time quantitative measurements of the hydroperoxyl radical (HO2) in a jet-stirred reactor were performed thanks to a new experimental setup involving fast sampling and near-infrared cavity ring-down spectroscopy at low pressure. The experiments were performed at atmospheric pressure and over a range of temperatures (550-900 K) with n-butane, the simplest hydrocarbon fuel exhibiting cool flame oxidation chemistry which represents a key process for the auto-ignition in internal combustion engines. The same technique was also used to measure H2O2, H2O, CH2O, and C2H4 under the same conditions. This new setup brings new scientific horizons for characterizing complex reactive systems at elevated temperatures. Measuring HO2 formation from hydrocarbon oxidation is extremely important in determining the propensity of a fuel to follow chain-termination pathways from R + O2 compared to chain branching (leading to OH), helping to constrain and better validate detailed chemical kinetics models.

The MYB182 Protein Down-Regulates Proanthocyanidin and Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Poplar by Repressing Both Structural and Regulatory Flavonoid Genes1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Yoshida, Kazuko; Ma, Dawei; Constabel, C. Peter

2015-01-01

Trees in the genus Populus (poplar) contain phenolic secondary metabolites including the proanthocyanidins (PAs), which help to adapt these widespread trees to diverse environments. The transcriptional activation of PA biosynthesis in response to herbivory and ultraviolet light stress has been documented in poplar leaves, and a regulator of this process, the R2R3-MYB transcription factor MYB134, has been identified. MYB134-overexpressing transgenic plants show a strong high-PA phenotype. Analysis of these transgenic plants suggested the involvement of additional MYB transcription factors, including repressor-like MYB factors. Here, MYB182, a subgroup 4 MYB factor, was found to act as a negative regulator of the flavonoid pathway. Overexpression of MYB182 in hairy root culture and whole poplar plants led to reduced PA and anthocyanin levels as well as a reduction in the expression of key flavonoid genes. Similarly, a reduced accumulation of transcripts of a MYB PA activator and a basic helix-loop-helix cofactor was observed in MYB182-overexpressing hairy roots. Transient promoter activation assays in poplar cell culture demonstrated that MYB182 can disrupt transcriptional activation by MYB134 and that the basic helix-loop-helix-binding motif of MYB182 was essential for repression. Microarray analysis of transgenic plants demonstrated that down-regulated targets of MYB182 also include shikimate pathway genes. This work shows that MYB182 plays an important role in the fine-tuning of MYB134-mediated flavonoid metabolism. PMID:25624398

Crystal structures of resorcin[4]arene and pyrogallol[4]arene complexes with DL-pipecolinic acid. Model compounds for the recognition of the pipecolinyl ring, a key fragment of FK506, through C-H⋯π interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujisawa, Ikuhide; Kitamura, Yuji; Kato, Ryo; Murayama, Kazutaka; Aoki, Katsuyuki

2014-01-01

Resorcin[4]arene (resorcinol cyclic tetramer, abbreviated as RCT) or pyrogallol[4]arene (pyrogallol cyclic tetramer, PCT) form host-guest 1:1 complexes with DL-pipecolinic acid (DL-pipeH), RCT·DL-pipeH·EtOH·8H2O (1), PCT DL-pipeH·EtOH·4H2O (2), and PCT·DL-pipeH·3H2O (3), whose crystal structures have been determined. In each complex, the pipeH ligand is incorporated into the bowl-shaped cavity of the RCT or PCT host molecules through C-H⋯π interactions between alkyl protons of the piperidine ring of pipeH and π-rings of RCT or PCT, forming an [(RCT/PCT)·pipeH] structural fragment. In 1 and 3, two [(RCT/PCT) pipeH] fragments self-associate across an inversion center to form a guest-mediated, obliquely declined dimeric structure [(RCT/PCT)·L-pipeH·D-pipeH (RCT/PCT)]. In 2, each PCT-capped pipeH ligand bridges to two adjacent PCT molecules to form guest-mediated, optically-discrete helical polymers [PCT·L-pipeH]n or [PCT·D-pipeH]n. An 1H NMR experiment shows that the complexation through C-H⋯π interaction between the piperidine ring of pipeH and π-rings of RCT or PCT occurs also in solution, with the binding constants of 9.7 ± 0.6 M-1 for RCT and 26.5 ± 1.5 M-1 for PCT. These complexes provide a synthetic model for the recognition of the pipecolinyl-ring moiety, a key constituent of immunosuppressant drugs such as FK506, FK520 or rapamycin, by their binding proteins through C-H⋯π interaction.

Structure of a BMI-1-Ring1B Polycomb Group Ubiquitin Ligase Complex

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li,Z.; Cao, R.; Wang, M.

2006-01-01

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins Bmi-1 and Ring1B are core subunits of the PRC1 complex which plays important roles in the regulation of Hox gene expression, X-chromosome inactivation, tumorigenesis and stem cell self-renewal. The RING finger protein Ring1B is an E3 ligase that participates in the ubiquitination of lysine 119 of histone H2A, and the binding of Bmi-1 stimulates the E3 ligase activity. We have mapped the regions of Bmi-1 and Ring1B required for efficient ubiquitin transfer and determined a 2.5 Angstroms structure of the Bmi-1-Ring1B core domain complex. The structure reveals that Ring1B 'hugs' Bmi-1 through extensive RING domain contactsmore » and its N-terminal tail wraps around Bmi-1. The two regions of interaction have a synergistic effect on the E3 ligase activity. Our analyses suggest a model where the Bmi-1-Ring1B complex stabilizes the interaction between the E2 enzyme and the nucleosomal substrate to allow efficient ubiquitin transfer.« less

An Empirical Assessment of Transgene Flow from a Bt Transgenic Poplar Plantation.

PubMed

Hu, Jianjun; Zhang, Jin; Chen, Xingling; Lv, Jinhui; Jia, Huixia; Zhao, Shutang; Lu, Mengzhu

2017-01-01

To assess the possible impact of transgenic poplar plantations on the ecosystem, we analyzed the frequency and distance of gene flow from a mature male transgenic Populus nigra plantation carrying the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin gene (Bt poplar) and the survival of Bt poplar seeds. The resultant Bt poplar seeds occurred at a frequency of ~0.15% at 0 m to ~0.02% at 500 m from the Bt poplar plantation. The germination of Bt poplar seeds diminished within three weeks in the field (germination rate from 68% to 0%) compared to 48% after three weeks of storage at 4°C. The survival rate of seedlings in the field was 0% without any treatment but increased to 1.7% under the addition of four treatments (cleaning and trimming, watering, weeding, and covering with plastic film to maintain moisture) after being seeded in the field for eight weeks. The results of this study indicate that gene flow originating from the Bt poplar plantation occurred at an extremely low level through pollen or seeds under natural conditions. This study provides first-hand field data on the extent of transgene flow in poplar plantations and offers guidance for the risk assessment of transgenic poplar plantations.

An Empirical Assessment of Transgene Flow from a Bt Transgenic Poplar Plantation

PubMed Central

Chen, Xingling; Lv, Jinhui; Jia, Huixia; Zhao, Shutang; Lu, Mengzhu

2017-01-01

To assess the possible impact of transgenic poplar plantations on the ecosystem, we analyzed the frequency and distance of gene flow from a mature male transgenic Populus nigra plantation carrying the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin gene (Bt poplar) and the survival of Bt poplar seeds. The resultant Bt poplar seeds occurred at a frequency of ~0.15% at 0 m to ~0.02% at 500 m from the Bt poplar plantation. The germination of Bt poplar seeds diminished within three weeks in the field (germination rate from 68% to 0%) compared to 48% after three weeks of storage at 4°C. The survival rate of seedlings in the field was 0% without any treatment but increased to 1.7% under the addition of four treatments (cleaning and trimming, watering, weeding, and covering with plastic film to maintain moisture) after being seeded in the field for eight weeks. The results of this study indicate that gene flow originating from the Bt poplar plantation occurred at an extremely low level through pollen or seeds under natural conditions. This study provides first-hand field data on the extent of transgene flow in poplar plantations and offers guidance for the risk assessment of transgenic poplar plantations. PMID:28085955

Methylation of microRNA genes regulates gene expression in bisexual flower development in andromonoecious poplar.

PubMed

Song, Yuepeng; Tian, Min; Ci, Dong; Zhang, Deqiang

2015-04-01

Previous studies showed sex-specific DNA methylation and expression of candidate genes in bisexual flowers of andromonoecious poplar, but the regulatory relationship between methylation and microRNAs (miRNAs) remains unclear. To investigate whether the methylation of miRNA genes regulates gene expression in bisexual flower development, the methylome, microRNA, and transcriptome were examined in female and male flowers of andromonoecious poplar. 27 636 methylated coding genes and 113 methylated miRNA genes were identified. In the coding genes, 64.5% of the methylated reads mapped to the gene body region; by contrast, 60.7% of methylated reads in miRNA genes mainly mapped in the 5' and 3' flanking regions. CHH methylation showed the highest methylation levels and CHG showed the lowest methylation levels. Correlation analysis showed a significant, negative, strand-specific correlation of methylation and miRNA gene expression (r=0.79, P <0.05). The methylated miRNA genes included eight long miRNAs (lmiRNAs) of 24 nucleotides and 11 miRNAs related to flower development. miRNA172b might play an important role in the regulation of bisexual flower development-related gene expression in andromonoecious poplar, via modification of methylation. Gynomonoecious, female, and male poplars were used to validate the methylation patterns of the miRNA172b gene, implying that hyper-methylation in andromonoecious and gynomonoecious poplar might function as an important regulator in bisexual flower development. Our data provide a useful resource for the study of flower development in poplar and improve our understanding of the effect of epigenetic regulation on genes other than protein-coding genes. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Biomass of Yellow-Poplar in Natural Stands in Western North Carolina

Treesearch

Alexander Clark; James G. Schroeder

1977-01-01

Aboveground biomass was determined for yellow-poplar(Liriodendron tulipifera L.) trees 6 to 28 inches d. b. h. growingin natural, uneven-aged mountaincovestandsin western North Carolina.Specific gravity, moisture content, and green weight per cubic foot are presented for the total tree and its components. Tables developed from regression equations show weight and...

To Make Long Character-Marked Cuttings From Low-Grade Yellow-Poplar Lumber - Rip First

Treesearch

Philip A. Araman

1979-01-01

Long, character-marked furniture cuttings are easily obtained when low-grade (2A and 2B Common) yellow-poplar lumber is first ripped into strips and then crosscut to remove objectionable defects. Overall yields of character-marked material using this procedure were 78% from 1 Common and 2A Common and 70% from 2B Common yellow-poplar lumber. Furthermore, 82% of the 1...

Oxygen Abundances in the Rings of Polar-Ring Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radtke, I. R.; Eskridge, P. B.; Pogge, R. W.

2003-05-01

Polar ring galaxies (PRGs) are typically early-type (S0 or E) galaxies surrounded by rings of gas, dust, and stars orbiting nearly perpendicular to the principle plane of the host galaxy (Whitmore et al. 1990 AJ 100 1489). Given that PRGs have two separate, perpendicular axes of rotation, it is clear on dynamical grounds that PRGs are the products of merger events between two galaxies, but are observed in a state where two distinct kinematic and morphological structures are still apparent. As such, they present a unique opportunity to study merger events in systems where the debris is not confused with material from the host. Our understanding of the relative importance of polar ring systems in the overall process of galaxy evolution is confounded by our lack of knowledge regarding the typical lifetimes and evolutionary histories of polar rings. A crucial factor for understanding the formation and evolution of PRGs is information regarding the elemental abundances of the ring material. Polar rings are typically rich in {\\protectH 2} regions. Optical spectroscopy of these {\\protectH 2} regions can tell us their density, temperature, and oxygen abundance. Our earlier work (Eskridge & Pogge 1997 ApJ 486 259) revealed roughly Solar oxygen abundances for {\\protectH 2} regions in the polar ring of NGC 2685. We have extended this project, and now have spectra for six PRGs. Analysis of the data for II Zw 73 and UGC 7576 reveal the polar rings of these galaxies to have {\\protectH 2} region oxygen abundances in the range 0.3 to 0.6 Solar, substantially less than found for NGC 2685. Abundances in this range are much easier to explain with conventional models of chemical enrichment and polar ring formation. We shall present results for our full sample. Taken as a whole, this sample will provide a clear foundation for the typical chemical enrichment patterns in polar rings, and thus provide a clearer understanding of the formation and evolution of these curious objects. We

Intrinsically disordered chromatin protein NUPR1 binds to the C-terminal region of Polycomb RING1B

PubMed Central

Santofimia-Castaño, Patricia; Rizzuti, Bruno; Pey, Ángel L.; Soubeyran, Philippe; Vidal, Miguel; Urrutia, Raúl; Iovanna, Juan L.; Neira, José L.

2017-01-01

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are ubiquitous in eukaryotes, and they are often associated with diseases in humans. The protein NUPR1 is a multifunctional IDP involved in chromatin remodeling and in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer; however, the details of such functions are unknown. Polycomb proteins are involved in specific transcriptional cascades and gene silencing. One of the proteins of the Polycomb complex is the Ring finger protein 1 (RING1). RING1 is related to aggressive tumor features in multiple cancer types. In this work we characterized the interaction between NUPR1 and the paralogue RING1B in vitro, in silico, and in cellulo. The interaction occurred through the C-terminal region of RING1B (C-RING1B), with an affinity in the low micromolar range (∼10 μM). The binding region of NUPR1, mapped by NMR, was a hydrophobic polypeptide patch at the 30s region of its sequence, as pinpointed by computational results and site-directed mutagenesis at Ala33. The association between C-RING1B and wild-type NUPR1 also occurred in cellulo as tested by protein ligation assays; this interaction is inhibited by trifluoperazine, a drug known to hamper binding of wild-type NUPR1 with other proteins. Furthermore, the Thr68Gln and Ala33Gln/Thr68Gln mutants had a reduction in the binding toward C-RING1B as shown by in vitro, in silico, and in cellulo studies. This is an example of a well-folded partner of NUPR1, because its other interacting proteins are also unfolded. We hypothesize that NUPR1 plays an active role in chromatin remodeling and carcinogenesis, together with Polycomb proteins. PMID:28720707

Synthetic, Infrared, 1H and 13C NMR Spectral Studies on N-(2-/3-Substituted Phenyl)-4-Substituted Benzenesulphonamides, 4-X'C6H4SO2NH(2-/3-XC6H4), where X' = H, CH3, C2H5, F, Cl or Br, and X = CH3 or Cl

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gowda, B. Thimme; Shetty, Mahesha; Jayalakshmi, K. L.

2005-02-01

Twenty three N-(2-/3-substituted phenyl)-4-substituted benzenesulphonamides of the general formula, 4-X'C6H4SO2NH(2-/3-XC6H4), where X' = H, CH3, C2H5, F, Cl or Br and X = CH3 or Cl have been prepared and characterized, and their infrared spectra in the solid state, 1H and 13C NMR spectra in solution were studied. The N-H stretching vibrations, νN-H, absorb in the range 3285 - 3199 cm-1, while the asymmetric and symmetric SO2 vibrations vary in the ranges 1376 - 1309 cm-1 and 1177 - 1148 cm-1, respectively. The S-N and C-N stretching vibrations absorb in the ranges 945 - 893 cm-1 and 1304 - 1168 cm-1, respectively. The compounds do not exhibit particular trends in the variation of these frequencies on substitution either at ortho or meta positions with either a methyl group or Cl. The observed 1H and 13C chemical shifts of are assigned to protons and carbons of the two benzene rings. Incremental shifts of the ring protons and carbons due to -SO2NH(2-/3-XC6H4) groups in C6H5SO2NH(2-/3-XC6H4), and 4- X'C6H4SO2- and 4-X'C6H4SO2NH- groups in 4-X'C6H4SO2NH(C6H5) are computed and employed to calculate the chemical shifts of the ring protons and carbons in the substituted compounds, 4-X'C6H4SO2NH(2-/3-XC6H4). The computed values agree well with the observed chemical shifts.

Hybrid poplar planting in the Lake States

Treesearch

Paul O. Rudolf

1948-01-01

Poplars are among our fastest growing trees. Many of them are also relatively easy to grow from cuttings and to hybridize by means of cut flower-bearing twigs. Their wood is in demand for pulpwood, veneer for match and crate production, boxboards, and other uses. For these reasons there has been interest in many countries in selecting and breeding poplars. The tree...

Survey of twenty-six hybrid poplar lines for poplar borer

Treesearch

W. Doug Stone; T. Keith Beatty; T. Evan Nebeker

2006-01-01

An insect survey was completed on 26 lines of hybrid poplar (Populus nigra x P. maximowiczii) that had the Roundup® Ready and Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) genes. The survey was conducted in Kentucky in cooperation with MeadWestvaco. A total of 260 trees were evaluated. Survival rate averaged...

Ring-diameter Ratios for Multi-ring Basins Average 2.0(0.5)D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pike, R. J.; Spudis, P. D.

1985-01-01

The spacing of the concentric rings of planetary impact basins was studied. It is shown that a radial increment of x (sup 0.5) D, where x is about 2.0 and D = ring diameter, separates both (1) adjacent least-squares groups of rings and arcs of multi-ring basins on Mars, Mercury, and the Moon; and (2) adjacent rings of individual basins on the three planets. Statistics for ratios of ring diameters are presented, the first and most-applied parameter of ring spacing. It is found that ratios excluding rings flanking the main ring also have a mean spacing increment of about 2.0. Ratios including such rings, as for the least-squares groups, and (1) above, have a larger increment, averaging 2.1. The F-test indicates, that these spacings of basin ring locations, and mode of ring formation are controlled by the mechanics of the impact event itself, rather than by crustal properties.

Ring[bond]chain tautomerism of 2-Aryl-substituted cis- and trans-decahydroquinazolines.

PubMed

Lázár, László; Göblyös, Anikó; Martinek, Tamás A; Fülöp, Ferenc

2002-07-12

In CDCl(3) at 300 K, 2-aryl-substituted cis- and trans-3-isopropyldecahydroquinazolines and trans-3-phenyldecahydroquinazolines proved to be three-component (r(1)[bond]o[bond]r(2)) ring[bond]chain tautomeric mixtures, whereas only ring-closed tautomers could be detected for the 3-methyl-substituted analogues. The proportions of the ring-chain tautomeric forms at equilibrium were strongly influenced by the N-substitutents and the cis-trans ring junction and could be described by the equation log K(X) = rho sigma(+) + log K(X=H). These are the first examples among 2-aryl-1,3-N,N-heterocycles of a three-component ring-chain tautomeric equilibrium characterized by a Hammett-type equation. The stabilities of the ring-closed forms of cis- and trans-2-aryldecahydroquinazolines and the corresponding 3,1-benzoxazines were found to increase in the following sequence of the heteroatom at position 3: NPh < N-i-Pr < O < NMe.

Comprehensively Surveying Structure and Function of RING Domains from Drosophila melanogaster

PubMed Central

Wu, Yuehao; Wan, Fusheng; Huang, Chunhong; Jie, Kemin

2011-01-01

Using a complete set of RING domains from Drosophila melanogaster, all the solved RING domains and cocrystal structures of RING-containing ubiquitin-ligases (RING-E3) and ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2) pairs, we analyzed RING domains structures from their primary to quarternary structures. The results showed that: i) putative orthologs of RING domains between Drosophila melanogaster and the human largely occur (118/139, 84.9%); ii) of the 118 orthologous pairs from Drosophila melanogaster and the human, 117 pairs (117/118, 99.2%) were found to retain entirely uniform domain architectures, only Iap2/Diap2 experienced evolutionary expansion of domain architecture; iii) 4 evolutionary structurally conserved regions (SCRs) are responsible for homologous folding of RING domains at the superfamily level; iv) besides the conserved Cys/His chelating zinc ions, 6 equivalent residues (4 hydrophobic and 2 polar residues) in the SCRs possess good-consensus and conservation- these 4 SCRs function in the structural positioning of 6 equivalent residues as determinants for RING-E3 catalysis; v) members of these RING proteins located nucleus, multiple subcellular compartments, membrane protein and mitochondrion are respectively 42 (42/139, 30.2%), 71 (71/139, 51.1%), 22 (22/139, 15.8%) and 4 (4/139, 2.9%); vi) CG15104 (Topors) and CG1134 (Mul1) in C3HC4, and CG3929 (Deltex) in C3H2C3 seem to display broader E2s binding profiles than other RING-E3s; vii) analyzing intermolecular interfaces of E2/RING-E3 complexes indicate that residues directly interacting with E2s are all from the SCRs in RING domains. Of the 6 residues, 2 hydrophobic ones contribute to constructing the conserved hydrophobic core, while the 2 hydrophobic and 2 polar residues directly participate in E2/RING-E3 interactions. Based on sequence and structural data, SCRs, conserved equivalent residues and features of intermolecular interfaces were extracted, highlighting the presence of a nucleus for RING domain fold

Protein Sensors Based on Optical Ring Resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Ying; Ksendzov, Alexander

2006-01-01

Prototype transducers based on integrated optical ring resonators have been demonstrated to be useful for detecting the protein avidin in extremely dilute solutions. In an experiment, one of the transducers proved to be capable of indicating the presence of avidin at a concentration of as little as 300 pM in a buffer solution a detection sensitivity comparable to that achievable by previously reported protein-detection techniques. These transducers are serving as models for the further development of integrated-optics sensors for detecting small quantities of other proteins and protein-like substances. The basic principle of these transducers was described in Chemical Sensors Based on Optical Ring Resonators (NPO-40601), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 29, No. 10 (October 2005), page 32. The differences between the present transducers and the ones described in the cited prior article lie in details of implementation of the basic principle. As before, the resonator in a transducer of the present type is a closed-circuit dielectric optical waveguide. The outermost layer of this waveguide, analogous to the optical cladding layer on an optical fiber, consists of a layer comprising sublayers having indices of refraction lower than that of the waveguide core. The outermost sublayer absorbs the chemical of interest (in this case, avidin). The index of refraction of the outermost sublayer changes with the concentration of absorbed avidin. The resonator is designed to operate with relatively strong evanescent-wave coupling between the outer sublayer and the electromagnetic field propagating along the waveguide core. By virtue of this coupling, the chemically induced change in the index of refraction of the outermost sublayer causes a measurable change in the spectrum of the resonator output.

Characterization of a novel RING-type ubiquitin E3 ligase GhRING2 differentially expressed in cotton fiber

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The ubiquitin-proteasome proteolysis pathway is responsible for the degradation of abnormal and short-lived proteins to regulate many important biochemical activities in eukaryotes. By employing affymetrix microarray analysis, we have identified a novel ubiquitin ligase E3 gene GhRING2 that is diffe...

[Phosphorus transfer between mixed poplar and black locust seedlings].

PubMed

He, Wei; Jia, Liming; Hao, Baogang; Wen, Xuejun; Zhai, Mingpu

2003-04-01

In this paper, the 32P radio-tracer technique was applied to study the ways of phosphorus transfer between poplar (Populus euramericana cv. 'I-214') and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). A five compartment root box (18 cm x 18 cm x 26 cm) was used for testing the existence of the hyphal links between the roots of two tree species when inoculated with vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus mosseae). Populus I-214 (donor) and Robinia pseudoacacia (receiver) were grown in two terminal compartments, separated by a 2 cm root-free soil layer. The root compartments were lined with bags of nylon mesh (38 microns) that allowed the passage of hyphae but not roots. The top soil of a mixed stand of poplar and black locust, autoclaved at 121 degrees C for one hour, was used for growing seedlings for testing. In 5 compartment root box, mycorrhizal root colonization of poplar was 34%, in which VA mycorrhizal fungus was inoculated, whereas 26% mycorrhizal root colonization was observed in black locust, the other terminal compartment, 20 weeks after planting. No root colonization was observed in non-inoculated plant pairs. This indicated that the mycorrhizal root colonization of black locust was caused by hyphal spreading from the poplar. Test of tracer isotope of 32P showed that the radioactivity of the treatment significantly higher than that of the control (P < 0.05), 14 days from the tracer applied, to 27 days after, when VA mycorrhizal fungus was inoculated in poplar root. Furthermore, mycorrhizal interconnections between the roots of poplar and black locust seedlings was observed in situ by binocular in root box. All these experiments showed that the hyphal links was formed between the roots of two species of trees inoculated by VA mycorrhizal fungus. Four treatments were designed according to if there were two nets (mesh 38 microns), 2 cm apart, between the poplar and black locust, and if the soil in root box was pasteurized. Most significant differences of

Boron accumulation and toxicity in hybrid poplar (Populus nigra × euramericana).

PubMed

Rees, Rainer; Robinson, Brett H; Menon, Manoj; Lehmann, Eberhard; Günthardt-Goerg, Madeleine S; Schulin, Rainer

2011-12-15

Poplars accumulate high B concentrations and are thus used for the phytomanagement of B contaminated soils. Here, we performed pot experiments in which Populus nigra × euramericana were grown on a substrate with B concentrations ranging from 13 to 280 mg kg(-1) as H(3)BO(3). Salix viminalis, Brassica juncea, and Lupinus albus were grown under some growing conditions for comparison. Poplar growth was unaffected at soil B treatment levels up to 93 mg kg(-1). Growth was progressively reduced at levels of 168 and 280 mg kg(-1). None of the other species survived at these substrate B levels. At leaf B concentrations <900 mg kg(-1) only <10% of the poplar leaf area showed signs of toxicity. Neutron radiography revealed that chlorotic leaf tissues had B concentrations of 1000-2000 mg kg(-1), while necrotic tissues had >2000 mg kg(-1). Average B concentrations of up to 3500 mg kg(-1) were found in leaves, while spots within leaves had concentrations >7000 mg kg(-1), showing that B accumulation in leaf tissue continued even after the onset of necrosis. The B accumulation ability of P. nigra × euramericana is associated with B hypertolerance in the living tissue and storage of B in dead leaf tissue.

Signatures of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase deficiency in poplar lignins.

PubMed

Lapierre, Catherine; Pilate, Gilles; Pollet, Brigitte; Mila, Isabelle; Leplé, Jean-Charles; Jouanin, Lise; Kim, Hoon; Ralph, John

2004-02-01

A series of transgenic poplars down-regulated for cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) was analyzed by thioacidolysis. Among the lignin-derived monomers, the indene compounds that were recently shown to originate from sinapaldehyde incorporated into lignins through 8-O-4-cross-coupling, were found to increase as a function of CAD deficiency level. While these syringyl markers were recovered in substantial amounts in the most severely depressed lines, the markers for coniferaldehyde incorporation were recovered in only low amounts. In conjunction with these additional sinapaldehyde units and relative to the control samples, lignins in CAD-deficient poplar lines had less conventional syringyl-units and beta-O-4-bonds and more free phenolic groups. We found that almost half of the polymers in the most deficient lines could be solubilized in alkali and at room temperature. This unusual behavior suggests that lignins in CAD-deficient poplars occur as small, alkali-leachable lignin domains. That mainly sinapaldehyde incorporates into the lignins of CAD-deficient poplars suggests that the recently identified sinapyl alcohol dehydrogenase (SAD), which is structurally distinct from the CAD enzyme targeted herein, does not play any substantial role in constitutive lignification in poplar.

Poplar maintains zinc homeostasis with heavy metal genes HMA4 and PCS1

PubMed Central

Adams, Joshua P.; Adeli, Ardeshir; Hsu, Chuan-Yu; Harkess, Richard L.; Page, Grier P.; dePamphilis, Claude W.; Schultz, Emily B.; Yuceer, Cetin

2011-01-01

Perennial woody species, such as poplar (Populus spp.) must acquire necessary heavy metals like zinc (Zn) while avoiding potential toxicity. Poplar contains genes with sequence homology to genes HMA4 and PCS1 from other species which are involved in heavy metal regulation. While basic genomic conservation exists, poplar does not have a hyperaccumulating phenotype. Poplar has a common indicator phenotype in which heavy metal accumulation is proportional to environmental concentrations but excesses are prevented. Phenotype is partly affected by regulation of HMA4 and PCS1 transcriptional abundance. Wild-type poplar down-regulates several transcripts in its Zn-interacting pathway at high Zn levels. Also, overexpressed PtHMA4 and PtPCS1 genes result in varying Zn phenotypes in poplar; specifically, there is a doubling of Zn accumulation in leaf tissues in an overexpressed PtPCS1 line. The genomic complement and regulation of poplar highlighted in this study supports a role of HMA4 and PCS1 in Zn regulation dictating its phenotype. These genes can be altered in poplar to change its interaction with Zn. However, other poplar genes in the surrounding pathway may maintain the phenotype by inhibiting drastic changes in heavy metal accumulation with a single gene transformation. PMID:21504875

(7-Chloro-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)methyl pyrrolidine-1-carbodi­thio­ate

PubMed Central

Kotresh, O.; Devarajegowda, H. C.; Shirahatti, Arunkumar; Kumar, K. Mahesh; Mahabhaleshwaraiah, N. M.

2013-01-01

In the title compound, C15H14ClNO2S2, the 2H-chromene ring system is essentially planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.0133 (10) Å. Three C atoms and their attached H atoms of the pyrrolidine ring are disordered [occupany ratio 0.874 (7):0.126 (7)] with both disorder components adopting a twisted conformation. The dihedral angle between the 2H-chromene ring system and the major occupancy component of the pyrrolidine ring is 89.45 (7)°. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of C—H⋯S and C—H⋯O inter­actions generate R 2 2(24) and R 2 2(10) loops, respectively. Further C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the dimers into [100] chains. C—H⋯π inter­actions also occur and there is very weak π–π stacking [inter­planar spacing = 3.650 (5) Å; centroid–centroid distance = 4.095 (7) Å] between inversion-related chloro­benzene rings. PMID:24454115

Plasma Proteome Dynamics: Analysis of Lipoproteins and Acute Phase Response Proteins with 2H2O Metabolic Labeling*

PubMed Central

Li, Ling; Willard, Belinda; Rachdaoui, Nadia; Kirwan, John P.; Sadygov, Rovshan G.; Stanley, William C.; Previs, Stephen; McCullough, Arthur J.; Kasumov, Takhar

2012-01-01

Understanding the pathologies related to the regulation of protein metabolism requires methods for studying the kinetics of individual proteins. We developed a 2H2O metabolic labeling technique and software for protein kinetic studies in free living organisms. This approach for proteome dynamic studies requires the measurement of total body water enrichments by GC-MS, isotopic distribution of the tryptic peptide by LC-MS/MS, and estimation of the asymptotical number of deuterium incorporated into a peptide by software. We applied this technique to measure the synthesis rates of several plasma lipoproteins and acute phase response proteins in rats. Samples were collected at different time points, and proteins were separated by a gradient gel electrophoresis. 2H labeling of tryptic peptides was analyzed by ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (LTQ MS/MS) for measurement of the fractional synthesis rates of plasma proteins. The high sensitivity of LTQ MS in zoom scan mode in combination with 2H label amplification in proteolytic peptides allows detection of the changes in plasma protein synthesis related to animal nutritional status. Our results demonstrate that fasting has divergent effects on the rate of synthesis of plasma proteins, increasing synthesis of ApoB 100 but decreasing formation of albumin and fibrinogen. We conclude that this technique can effectively measure the synthesis of plasma proteins and can be used to study the regulation of protein homeostasis under physiological and pathological conditions. PMID:22393261

Poplar trees for phytoremediation of high levels of nitrate and applications in bioenergy.

PubMed

Castro-Rodríguez, Vanessa; García-Gutiérrez, Angel; Canales, Javier; Cañas, Rafael A; Kirby, Edward G; Avila, Concepción; Cánovas, Francisco M

2016-01-01

The utilization of high amounts of nitrate fertilizers for crop yield leads to nitrate pollution of ground and surface waters. In this study, we report the assimilation and utilization of nitrate luxuriant levels, 20 times more than the highest N fertilizer application in Europe, by transgenic poplars overexpressing a cytosolic glutamine synthetase (GS1). In comparison with the wild-type controls, transgenic plants grown under high N levels exhibited increased biomass (171.6%) and accumulated higher levels of proteins, chlorophylls and total sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose. These plants also exhibited greater nitrogen-use efficiency particularly in young leaves, suggesting that they are able to translocate most of the resources to the above-ground part of the plant to produce biomass. The transgenic poplar transcriptome was greatly affected in response to N availability with 1237 genes differentially regulated in high N, while only 632 genes were differentially expressed in untransformed plants. Many of these genes are essential in the adaptation and response against N excess and include those involved in photosynthesis, cell wall formation and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. Cellulose production in the transgenic plants was fivefold higher than in control plants, indicating that transgenic poplars represent a potential feedstock for applications in bioenergy. In conclusion, our results show that GS transgenic poplars can be used not only for improving growth and biomass production but also as an important resource for potential phytoremediation of nitrate pollution. © 2015 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

2S protein Ara h 7.0201 has unique epitopes compared to other Ara h 7 isoforms and is comparable to 2S proteins Ara h 2 and 6 in basophil degranulation capacity.

PubMed

Hayen, S M; Ehlers, A M; den Hartog Jager, C F; Garssen, J; Knol, E F; Knulst, A C; Suer, W; Willemsen, L E M; Otten, H G

2018-07-01

Screening for specific IgE against 2S albumin proteins Ara h 2 and 6 has good positive predictive value in diagnosing peanut allergy. From the third 2S member Ara h 7, 3 isoforms have been identified. Their allergenicity has not been elucidated. This study investigated the allergenicity of Ara h 7 isoforms compared to Ara h 2 and 6. Sensitization of 15 DBPCFC-confirmed peanut-allergic patients to recombinant Ara h 2.0201, Ara h 6.01 and isoforms of recombinant Ara h 7 was determined by IgE immunoblotting strips. A basophil activation test (BAT) was performed in 9 patients to determine IgE-cross-linking capacities of the allergens. Sensitivity to the allergens was tested in 5 patients who were sensitized to at least 1 Ara h 7 isoform, by a concentration range in the BAT. 3D prediction models and sequence alignments were used to visualize differences between isoforms and to predict allergenic epitope regions. Sensitization to Ara h 7.0201 was most frequent (80%) and showed to be equally potent as Ara h 2.0201 and 6.01 in inducing basophil degranulation. Sensitization to Ara h 7.0201 together with Ara h 2.0201 and/or 6.01 was observed, indicating the presence of unique epitopes compared to the other 2 isoforms. Differences between the 3 Ara h 7 isoforms were observed in C-terminal cysteine residues, pepsin and trypsin cleavage sites and 3 single amino acid substitutions. The majority of peanut-allergic patients are sensitized to isoform Ara h 7.0201, which is functionally as active as Ara h 2.0201 and 6.01. Unique epitopes are most likely located in the C-terminus or an allergenic loop region which is a known allergenic epitope region for Ara h 2.0201 and 6.01. Due to its unique epitopes and allergenicity, it is an interesting candidate to improve the diagnostic accuracy for peanut allergy. © 2018 The Authors. Clinical & Experimental Allergy Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Harvesting systems and costs for short rotation poplar

Treesearch

B. Rummer; D. Mitchell

2013-01-01

The objective of this review is to compare the cost of coppice and longer rotation poplar harvesting technology. Harvesting technology for short rotation poplar has evolved over the years to address both coppice harvest and single-stem harvest systems. Two potential approaches for coppice harvesting are modified forage harvesters and modified mulcher-balers. Both of...

Detection of antibody-antigen reaction by silicon nitride slot-ring biosensors using protein G

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taniguchi, Tomoya; Hirowatari, Anna; Ikeda, Takeshi; Fukuyama, Masataka; Amemiya, Yoshiteru; Kuroda, Akio; Yokoyama, Shin

2016-04-01

Biosensors using ring resonators with silicon nitride (SiN) slot waveguides have been fabricated. The temperature coefficient of the resonance wavelength of the SiN resonator is 0.006 nm/°C, which is one order of magnitude smaller than that of Si. The sensitivity of the biosensor has been improved by using slot waveguide together with Si-binding protein (designated as Si-tag), which bonds to SiN or SiO2 surface, as an anchoring molecule to immobilize bioreceptors on the SiN rings in an oriented manner. Furthermore, the protein G, which strongly bonds to many kinds of mammalian antibodies only by mixing the antibody solution, is used to efficiently immobilize the antigen on the sensor surface. By means of these devises the sensitivity of the biosensor has been improved by factor of 10-100 compared with that of normal Si ring resonator sensors without slot. Then the detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA) with the sensitivity of ~1×10-8 g/ml, which is the concentration of strongly suspicious for the prostate cancer, has been achieved.

The salinity tolerant poplar database (STPD): a comprehensive database for studying tree salt-tolerant adaption and poplar genomics.

PubMed

Ma, Yazhen; Xu, Ting; Wan, Dongshi; Ma, Tao; Shi, Sheng; Liu, Jianquan; Hu, Quanjun

2015-03-17

Soil salinity is a significant factor that impairs plant growth and agricultural productivity, and numerous efforts are underway to enhance salt tolerance of economically important plants. Populus species are widely cultivated for diverse uses. Especially, they grow in different habitats, from salty soil to mesophytic environment, and are therefore used as a model genus for elucidating physiological and molecular mechanisms of stress tolerance in woody plants. The Salinity Tolerant Poplar Database (STPD) is an integrative database for salt-tolerant poplar genome biology. Currently the STPD contains Populus euphratica genome and its related genetic resources. P. euphratica, with a preference of the salty habitats, has become a valuable genetic resource for the exploitation of tolerance characteristics in trees. This database contains curated data including genomic sequence, genes and gene functional information, non-coding RNA sequences, transposable elements, simple sequence repeats and single nucleotide polymorphisms information of P. euphratica, gene expression data between P. euphratica and Populus tomentosa, and whole-genome alignments between Populus trichocarpa, P. euphratica and Salix suchowensis. The STPD provides useful searching and data mining tools, including GBrowse genome browser, BLAST servers and genome alignments viewer, which can be used to browse genome regions, identify similar sequences and visualize genome alignments. Datasets within the STPD can also be downloaded to perform local searches. A new Salinity Tolerant Poplar Database has been developed to assist studies of salt tolerance in trees and poplar genomics. The database will be continuously updated to incorporate new genome-wide data of related poplar species. This database will serve as an infrastructure for researches on the molecular function of genes, comparative genomics, and evolution in closely related species as well as promote advances in molecular breeding within Populus. The

Overexpression of a cytosolic NADP+-isocitrate dehydrogenase causes alterations in the vascular development of hybrid poplars.

PubMed

Pascual, María Belén; Molina-Rueda, Juan Jesús; Cánovas, Francisco M; Gallardo, Fernando

2018-06-15

Cytosolic NADP+-isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH) is one of the major enzymes involved in the production of 2-oxoglutarate for amino acid biosynthesis in plants. In most plants studied, ICDH is encoded by either one gene or a small gene family, and the protein sequence has been highly conserved during evolution, suggesting it plays different and essential roles in metabolism and differentiation. To elucidate the role of ICDH in hybrid poplar (Populus tremula x P. alba), transgenic plants overexpressing the Pinus pinaster gene were generated. Overexpression of ICDH resulted in hybrid poplar (Populus tremula × P. alba) trees with higher expression levels of the endogenous ICDH gene and higher enzyme content than control untransformed plants. Transgenic poplars also showed an increased expression of glutamine synthetase (GS1.3), glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) and other genes associated with vascular differentiation. Furthermore, these plants exhibited increased growth in height, longer internodes and enhanced vascular development in young leaves and the apical region of stem. Modifications in amino acid and organic acid content were observed in young leaves of the transgenic lines, suggesting an increased biosynthesis of amino acids for building new structures and also for transport to other sink organs, as expanding leaves or young stems. Taken together, these results support an important role of ICDH in plant growth and vascular development.

Use of Sulfometuron in Hybrid Poplar Energy Plantations

Treesearch

Daniel A. Netzer

1995-01-01

Reports that low rates of sulfometuron, 70 grams per hactare (1 ounce product or 0.75 ounces active ingredient per acre), applied when hybrid poplars are completely dormant, can provide season-long weed control and increase hybrid poplar growth. If plantation access is not possible before growth activity begins in the spring, late fall application of this herbicide...

A conjugated mess: measurements of benzene (C6H6), CH4, CO2, and H2O using a cavity ring-down spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleck, Derek; Hoffnagle, John; He, Yonggang

2017-04-01

Benzene is widely used carcinogenic chemical that ranks among the top 15 chemicals produced in the world by volume. It is part of many industrial processes from solvents to rubber and drug production and is also produced in petroleum refinement and use. OSHA and European regulators have set a strict long-term exposure limit and short-term exposure limit of 1ppm and 15ppm, respectively, to minimize hazards to a person's health. With the recent passing by the EPA of mandatory fence line monitoring of benzene at petroleum factories, it is evident that a robust, continuous measurement of benzene is necessary. Conventional measurements of benzene suffer from a high granularity (nearly 1 ppm), cumbersome sample preparation/processing, or cross-sensitivities from other gas species. The aim of this study is to show development of an analyzer using cavity ring-down spectrometry (CRDS) to measure benzene, as well as all the main constituents of air that can influence a measurement: H2O, CO2, and CH4. A measurement of benzene to an uncertainty of 100 ppb in <5 minutes is currently attainable, with a future goal of making this measurement in only ten seconds to 1 minute. Initial results show precisions of CH4 at 0.5ppb, CO2 at 0.5ppm and H2O of 10ppm. Because of the relatively IR-inactive C6H6 molecule, only broad features lying underneath the relatively sharp signals of CH4, CO2, and H2O can be used to quantify benzene concentrations. The stability of the CRDS analyzer allows us to look at structured changes in the baseline due to benzene to get out a precise measurement, while rarely having to do a zero-reference calibration. The analysis of these four species yields an instrument that is not only viable for fence line monitoring of petroleum refineries, but one that could also be used for local atmospheric monitoring of cities or even gas-stations.

Isoprene in poplar emissions: effects on new particle formation and OH concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiendler-Scharr, A.; Andres, S.; Bachner, M.; Behnke, K.; Broch, S.; Hofzumahaus, A.; Holland, F.; Kleist, E.; Mentel, T. F.; Rubach, F.; Springer, M.; Steitz, B.; Tillmann, R.; Wahner, A.; Schnitzler, J.-P.; Wildt, J.

2012-01-01

Stress-induced volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from transgenic Grey poplar modified in isoprene emission potential were used for the investigation of photochemical secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. In poplar, acute ozone stress induces the emission of a wide array of VOCs dominated by sesquiterpenes and aromatic VOCs. Constitutive light-dependent emission of isoprene ranged between 66 nmol m-2 s-1 in non-transgenic controls (wild type WT) and nearly zero (<0.5 nmol m-2 s-1) in isoprene emission-repressed plants (line RA22), respectively. Nucleation rates of up to 3600 cm-3 s-1 were observed in our experiments. In the presence of isoprene new particle formation was suppressed compared to non-isoprene containing VOC mixtures. Compared to isoprene/monoterpene systems emitted from other plants the suppression of nucleation by isoprene was less effective for the VOC mixture emitted from stressed poplar. This is explained by the observed high efficiency of new particle formation for emissions from stressed poplar. Direct measurements of OH in the reaction chamber revealed that the steady state concentration of OH is lower in the presence of isoprene than in the absence of isoprene, supporting the hypothesis that isoprenes' suppressing effect on nucleation is related to radical chemistry. In order to test whether isoprene contributes to SOA mass formation, fully deuterated isoprene (C5D8) was added to the stress-induced emission profile of an isoprene free poplar mutant. Mass spectral analysis showed that, despite the isoprene-induced suppression of particle formation, fractions of deuterated isoprene were incorporated into the SOA. A fractional mass yield of 2.3% of isoprene was observed. Future emission changes due to land use and climate change may therefore affect both gas phase oxidation capacity and new particle number formation.

Isoprene in poplar emissions: effects on new particle formation and OH concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiendler-Scharr, A.; Andres, S.; Bachner, M.; Behnke, K.; Broch, S.; Hofzumahaus, A.; Holland, F.; Kleist, E.; Mentel, T. F.; Rubach, F.; Springer, M.; Steitz, B.; Tillmann, R.; Wahner, A.; Schnitzler, J.-P.; Wildt, J.

2011-08-01

Stress-induced volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from transgenic Grey poplar, modified in isoprene emission potential were used for the investigation of photochemical secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. Nucleation rates of up to 3600 cm-3 s-1 were observed in our experiments. In poplar, acute ozone stress induces the emission of a wide array of VOCs dominated by sesquiterpenes and aromatic VOCs. Constitutive light-dependent emission of isoprene ranged between 66 nmol m-2 s-1 in non-transgenic controls (wild type WT) and nearly zero (<0.5 nmol m-2 s-1) in isoprene emission-repressed lines (line RA22), respectively. In the presence of isoprene new particle formation was suppressed compared to non-isoprene containing VOC mixtures. Compared to isoprene/monoterpene systems emitted from other plants the suppression of nucleation by isoprene was less effective for the VOC mixture emitted from stressed poplar. This is explained by the observed high efficiency of new particle formation for emissions from stressed poplar. Direct measurements of OH in the reaction chamber revealed that the steady state concentration of OH is lower in the presence of isoprene than in the absence of isoprene, supporting the hypothesis that isoprenes' suppressing effect on nucleation is related to radical chemistry. In order to test whether isoprene contributes to SOA mass formation, fully deuterated isoprene (C5D8) was added to the stress-induced emission profile of an isoprene free poplar mutant. Mass spectral analysis showed that, despite the isoprene-induced suppression of particle formation, fractions of deuterated isoprene were incorporated into the SOA. A fractional mass yield of 2.3 % of isoprene was observed. Future emission changes due to land use and climate change may therefore affect both gas phase oxidation capacity and new particle number formation.

Yellow-Poplar Rooting Habits

Treesearch

John K. Francis

1979-01-01

Although the configuration of pole-sized yellow-poplar root systems in Tennessee is quite variable, a branched taproot with several widely spreading laterals is typical. Rooting depth is particularly limited by clayey texture, wetness, and firmness of subsoils.

Mycorrhizae of poplars

Treesearch

R. C. Schultz; J. G. Isebrands; P. P. Kormanik

1983-01-01

Poplar hybrids, being screened for short-rotation intensive culture, can form ecto-, endo-, or ectendo-mycorrhizae or may be autotrophic. Different sections of the genus Populus tend to be selective in the type of mycorrhizae formed. Knowledge of which types are formed influences the kinds of propagule production, site preparation, and herbicide...

Response of the Imported Willow Leaf Beetle to Bacillus thuringiensis var. san diego on Poplar Willow1

Treesearch

Leah S. Bauer

1992-01-01

The imported willow leaf beetle, Plagiodera versicolora (Laicharting) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a multivoltine defoliator of willow and poplar (Salicaceae), is considered a significant pest throughout eastern North America (W.T. Johnson and H.H Lyon, "Insects that Feed on Trees and Shrubs," Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1988)....

Overexpression of DEMETER, a DNA demethylase, promotes early apical bud maturation in poplar.

PubMed

Conde, Daniel; Moreno-Cortés, Alicia; Dervinis, Christopher; Ramos-Sánchez, José M; Kirst, Matias; Perales, Mariano; González-Melendi, Pablo; Allona, Isabel

2017-11-01

The transition from active growth to dormancy is critical for the survival of perennial plants. We identified a DEMETER-like (CsDML) cDNA from a winter-enriched cDNA subtractive library in chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), an economically and ecologically important species. Next, we characterized this DNA demethylase and its putative ortholog in the more experimentally tractable hybrid poplar (Populus tremula × alba), under the signals that trigger bud dormancy in trees. We performed phylogenetic and protein sequence analysis, gene expression profiling, and 5-methyl-cytosine methylation immunodetection studies to evaluate the role of CsDML and its homolog in poplar, PtaDML6. Transgenic hybrid poplars overexpressing CsDML were produced and analysed. Short days and cold temperatures induced CsDML and PtaDML6. Overexpression of CsDML accelerated short-day-induced bud formation, specifically from Stages 1 to 0. Buds acquired a red-brown coloration earlier than wild-type plants, alongside with the up-regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis enzymes and accumulation of flavonoids in the shoot apical meristem and bud scales. Our data show that the CsDML gene induces bud formation needed for the survival of the apical meristem under the harsh conditions of winter. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A New Membrane Protein Sbg1 Links the Contractile Ring Apparatus and Septum Synthesis Machinery in Fission Yeast

PubMed Central

Sethi, Kriti; Palani, Saravanan; Cortés, Juan C. G.; Sato, Mamiko; Sevugan, Mayalagu; Ramos, Mariona; Vijaykumar, Shruthi; Osumi, Masako; Naqvi, Naweed I.; Ribas, Juan Carlos; Balasubramanian, Mohan

2016-01-01

Cytokinesis in many organisms requires a plasma membrane anchored actomyosin ring, whose contraction facilitates cell division. In yeast and fungi, actomyosin ring constriction is also coordinated with division septum assembly. How the actomyosin ring interacts with the plasma membrane and the plasma membrane-localized septum synthesizing machinery remains poorly understood. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, an attractive model organism to study cytokinesis, the β-1,3-glucan synthase Cps1p / Bgs1p, an integral membrane protein, localizes to the plasma membrane overlying the actomyosin ring and is required for primary septum synthesis. Through a high-dosage suppressor screen we identified an essential gene, sbg1+ (suppressor of beta glucan synthase 1), which suppressed the colony formation defect of Bgs1-defective cps1-191 mutant at higher temperatures. Sbg1p, an integral membrane protein, localizes to the cell ends and to the division site. Sbg1p and Bgs1p physically interact and are dependent on each other to localize to the division site. Loss of Sbg1p results in an unstable actomyosin ring that unravels and slides, leading to an inability to deposit a single contiguous division septum and an important reduction of the β-1,3-glucan proportion in the cell wall, coincident with that observed in the cps1-191 mutant. Sbg1p shows genetic and / or physical interaction with Rga7p, Imp2p, Cdc15p, and Pxl1p, proteins known to be required for actomyosin ring integrity and efficient septum synthesis. This study establishes Sbg1p as a key member of a group of proteins that link the plasma membrane, the actomyosin ring, and the division septum assembly machinery in fission yeast. PMID:27749909

A New Membrane Protein Sbg1 Links the Contractile Ring Apparatus and Septum Synthesis Machinery in Fission Yeast.

PubMed

Sethi, Kriti; Palani, Saravanan; Cortés, Juan C G; Sato, Mamiko; Sevugan, Mayalagu; Ramos, Mariona; Vijaykumar, Shruthi; Osumi, Masako; Naqvi, Naweed I; Ribas, Juan Carlos; Balasubramanian, Mohan

2016-10-01

Cytokinesis in many organisms requires a plasma membrane anchored actomyosin ring, whose contraction facilitates cell division. In yeast and fungi, actomyosin ring constriction is also coordinated with division septum assembly. How the actomyosin ring interacts with the plasma membrane and the plasma membrane-localized septum synthesizing machinery remains poorly understood. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, an attractive model organism to study cytokinesis, the β-1,3-glucan synthase Cps1p / Bgs1p, an integral membrane protein, localizes to the plasma membrane overlying the actomyosin ring and is required for primary septum synthesis. Through a high-dosage suppressor screen we identified an essential gene, sbg1+ (suppressor of beta glucan synthase 1), which suppressed the colony formation defect of Bgs1-defective cps1-191 mutant at higher temperatures. Sbg1p, an integral membrane protein, localizes to the cell ends and to the division site. Sbg1p and Bgs1p physically interact and are dependent on each other to localize to the division site. Loss of Sbg1p results in an unstable actomyosin ring that unravels and slides, leading to an inability to deposit a single contiguous division septum and an important reduction of the β-1,3-glucan proportion in the cell wall, coincident with that observed in the cps1-191 mutant. Sbg1p shows genetic and / or physical interaction with Rga7p, Imp2p, Cdc15p, and Pxl1p, proteins known to be required for actomyosin ring integrity and efficient septum synthesis. This study establishes Sbg1p as a key member of a group of proteins that link the plasma membrane, the actomyosin ring, and the division septum assembly machinery in fission yeast.

West Virginia yellow-poplar lumber defect database

Treesearch

Lawrence E. Osborn; Charles J. Gatchell; Curt C. Hassler; Curt C. Hassler

1992-01-01

Describes the data collection methods and the format of the new West Virginia yellow-poplar lumber defect database that was developed for use with computer simulation programs. The database contains descriptions of 627 boards, totaling approximately 3,800 board. feet, collected in West Virginia in grades FAS, FASlF, No. 1 Common, No. 2A Common, and No. 2B Common. The...

Bedding Improves Yellow-Poplar Growth on Fragipan Soils

Treesearch

John K. Francis

1979-01-01

Yellow-poplar can be grown on soils that have a shallow fragipan--but unless such sites are bedded, growth is likely to be extremely poor. In a Tennessee study, bedding increased height of planted yellow-poplar over 5 years, but fertilizer did not. Because of the cost of bedding and the availability of nonfragipan sites, it would ordinarily be better not to plant...

Soil CO2 flux in alley-cropping systems composed of black locust and poplar trees, Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Medinski, Tetiana; Freese, Dirk; Boehm, Christian

2013-04-01

The understanding of soil carbon dynamics after establishment of alley-cropping systems is crucial for mitigation of greenhouse CO2 gas. This study investigates soil CO2 fluxes in alley-cropping systems composed of strips of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and poplar (Max 1) trees and adjacent to them crop strips (Lupinus). Soil CO2 flux was measured monthly over a period from March to November 2012, using a LI-COR LI-8100A automated device. Concurrently with CO2 flux measurements, soil and air temperature and soil moisture were recorded within 10 cm of each collar. Soil samples were collected nearby each soil collar for microbial C and hot water-extractable C analyses. At each study plot, root biomass was measured to a depth of 15 cm. In all vegetation types, soil CO2 flux increased from May to August, showing a significant positive correlation with air and soil temperature, which can be a reflection of increase in photosynthesis over the warm summer months. CO2 flux was the highest in poplar followed by black locust and lupines. The relationships between CO2 flux, microbial biomass and hot water-extractable carbon were not straightforward. Among the measured parameters, root density was found to be the main factor to explain the higher CO2 flux in tree strips.

Comparative genomic analysis of the eight-membered ring cystine knot-containing bone morphogenetic protein antagonists.

PubMed

Avsian-Kretchmer, Orna; Hsueh, Aaron J W

2004-01-01

TGF-beta family proteins with a cystine knot motif serve as ligands for diverse families of plasma membrane receptors. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonists represent a subgroup of these proteins, some of which bind BMPs and antagonize their actions during development and morphogenesis. Availability of completed genome sequences from diverse organisms allows bioinformatic analysis of the evolution of BMP antagonists and facilitates their classification. Using a regular expression algorithm (http://BioRegEx.stanford.edu), an exhaustive search of the human genome identified all cystine knot-containing BMP antagonists. Based on the size of the cystine ring, these proteins were divided into three subfamilies: CAN (eight-membered ring), twisted gastrulation (nine-membered ring), as well as chordin and noggin (10-membered ring). The CAN family can be divided further into four subgroups based on a conserved arrangement of additional cysteine residues-gremlin and PRDC, cerberus and coco, and DAN, together with USAG-1 and sclerostin. We searched for orthologs of human BMP antagonists in the genomes of model organisms and analyzed their phylogenetic relationship. New human paralogs were identified together with the verification of orthologous relationships of known genes. We also discuss the physiological roles of the CAN subfamily of BMP antagonists and the associated genetic defects. Based on the known three-dimensional structure of key cystine knot proteins, we postulated disulfide bondings for eight-membered ring BMP antagonists to predict their potential folding and dimerization.

Crystal structures of three indole derivatives: 3-ethnyl-2-methyl-1-phenyl­sulfonyl-1H-indole, 4-phenyl­sulfonyl-3H,4H-cyclo­penta­[b]indol-1(2H)-one and 1-{2-[(E)-2-(5-chloro-2-nitro­phen­yl)ethen­yl]-1-phenyl­sulfonyl-1H-indol-3-yl}ethan-1-one chloro­form monosolvate

PubMed Central

Gopinath, S.; Sethusankar, K.; Ramalingam, Bose Muthu; Mohanakrishnan, Arasambattu K.

2015-01-01

The title compounds, C17H13NO2S, (I), C17H13NO3S, (II), and C24H17ClN2O5S·CHCl3, (III), are indole derivatives. Compounds (I) and (II) crystalize with two independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. The indole ring systems in all three structures deviate only slightly from planarity, with dihedral angles between the planes of the pyrrole and benzene rings spanning the tight range 0.20 (9)–1.65 (9)°. These indole ring systems, in turn, are almost orthogonal to the phenyl­sulfonyl rings [range of dihedral angles between mean planes = 77.21 (8)–89.26 (8)°]. In the three compounds, the mol­ecular structure is stabilized by intra­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating S(6) ring motifs with the sulfone O atom. In compounds (I) and (II), the two independent mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and C—H⋯π inter­actions, while in compound (III), the mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating R 2 2(22) inversion dimers. PMID:26396842

Thermodynamics parameters for binding of halogenated benzotriazole inhibitors of human protein kinase CK2α.

PubMed

Winiewska, Maria; Kucińska, Katarzyna; Makowska, Małgorzata; Poznański, Jarosław; Shugar, David

2015-10-01

The interaction of human CK2α (hCK2α) with nine halogenated benzotriazoles, TBBt and its analogues representing all possible patterns of halogenation on the benzene ring of benzotriazole, was studied by biophysical methods. Thermal stability of protein-ligand complexes, monitored by calorimetric (DSC) and optical (DSF) methods, showed that the increase in the mid-point temperature for unfolding of protein-ligand complexes (i.e. potency of ligand binding to hCK2α) follow the inhibitory activities determined by biochemical assays. The dissociation constant for the ATP-hCK2α complex was estimated with the aid of microscale thermophoresis (MST) as 4.3±1.8 μM, and MST-derived dissociation constants determined for halogenated benzotriazoles, when converted according to known ATP concentrations, perfectly reconstruct IC50 values determined by the biochemical assays. Ligand-dependent quenching of tyrosine fluorescence, together with molecular modeling and DSC-derived heats of unfolding, support the hypothesis that halogenated benzotriazoles bind in at least two alternative orientations, and those that are efficient hCK2α inhibitors bind in the orientation which TBBt adopts in its complex with maize CK2α. DSC-derived apparent heat for ligand binding (ΔΔHbind) is driven by intermolecular electrostatic interactions between Lys68 and the triazole ring of the ligand, as indicated by a good correlation between ΔΔHbind and ligand pKa. Overall results, additionally supported by molecular modeling, confirm that a balance of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions contribute predominantly (~40 kJ/mol), relative to possible intermolecular halogen/hydrogen bonding (less than 10 kJ/mol), in binding of halogenated benzotriazoles to the ATP-binding site of hCK2α. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Inhibitors of Protein Kinases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The MTA family proteins as novel histone H3 binding proteins.

PubMed

Wu, Meng; Wang, Lina; Li, Qian; Li, Jiwen; Qin, Jun; Wong, Jiemin

2013-01-03

The nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylase complex (Mi2/NRD/NuRD/NURD) has a broad role in regulation of transcription, DNA repair and cell cycle. Previous studies have revealed a specific interaction between NURD and histone H3N-terminal tail in vitro that is not observed for another HDAC1/2-containing complex, Sin3A. However, the subunit(s) responsible for specific binding of H3 by NURD has not been defined. In this study, we show among several class I HDAC-containing corepressor complexes only NURD exhibits a substantial H3 tail-binding activity in vitro. We present the evidence that the MTA family proteins within the NURD complex interact directly with H3 tail. Extensive in vitro binding assays mapped the H3 tail-binding domain to the C-terminal region of MTA1 and MTA2. Significantly, although the MTA1 and MTA2 mutant proteins with deletion of the C-terminal H3 tail binding domain were assembled into the endogenous NURD complex when expressed in mammalian cells, the resulting NURD complexes were deficient in binding H3 tail in vitro, indicating that the MTA family proteins are required for the observed specific binding of H3 tail peptide by NURD in vitro. However, chromatin fractionation experiments show that the NURD complexes with impaired MTA1/2-H3 tail binding activity remained to be associated with chromatin in cells. Together our study reveals a novel histone H3-binding activity for the MTA family proteins and provides evidence that the MTA family proteins mediate the in vitro specific binding of H3 tail peptide by NURD complex. However, multiple mechanisms are likely to contribute to the chromatin association of NURD complex in cells. Our finding also raises the possibility that the MTA family proteins may exert their diverse biological functions at least in part through their direct interaction with H3 tail.

The MTA family proteins as novel histone H3 binding proteins

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylase complex (Mi2/NRD/NuRD/NURD) has a broad role in regulation of transcription, DNA repair and cell cycle. Previous studies have revealed a specific interaction between NURD and histone H3N-terminal tail in vitro that is not observed for another HDAC1/2-containing complex, Sin3A. However, the subunit(s) responsible for specific binding of H3 by NURD has not been defined. Results In this study, we show among several class I HDAC-containing corepressor complexes only NURD exhibits a substantial H3 tail-binding activity in vitro. We present the evidence that the MTA family proteins within the NURD complex interact directly with H3 tail. Extensive in vitro binding assays mapped the H3 tail-binding domain to the C-terminal region of MTA1 and MTA2. Significantly, although the MTA1 and MTA2 mutant proteins with deletion of the C-terminal H3 tail binding domain were assembled into the endogenous NURD complex when expressed in mammalian cells, the resulting NURD complexes were deficient in binding H3 tail in vitro, indicating that the MTA family proteins are required for the observed specific binding of H3 tail peptide by NURD in vitro. However, chromatin fractionation experiments show that the NURD complexes with impaired MTA1/2-H3 tail binding activity remained to be associated with chromatin in cells. Conclusions Together our study reveals a novel histone H3-binding activity for the MTA family proteins and provides evidence that the MTA family proteins mediate the in vitro specific binding of H3 tail peptide by NURD complex. However, multiple mechanisms are likely to contribute to the chromatin association of NURD complex in cells. Our finding also raises the possibility that the MTA family proteins may exert their diverse biological functions at least in part through their direct interaction with H3 tail. PMID:23286669

Cycloalkyl-AminoMethylRhodamines: pH Dependent Photophysical Properties Tuned by Cycloalkane Ring Size

PubMed Central

Liu, Chuangjun; Best, Quinn A.; Suarez, Brian; Pertile, Jack; McCarroll, Matthew E.; Scott, Colleen N.

2015-01-01

A series of fluorescent pH probes based on the spiro-cyclic rhodamine core, aminomethylrhodamines (AMR), was synthesized and the effect of cycloalkane ring size on the acid/base properties of the AMR system was explored. The study involved a series of rhodamine 6G (cAMR6G) and rhodamine B (cAMR) pH probes with cycloalkane ring sizes from C-3 to C-6 on the spiro-cyclic amino group. It is known that the pKa value of cycloalkylamines can be tuned by the different ring sizes in accordance with the Baeyer ring strain theory. Smaller ring amines have lower pKa value, i.e. they're less basic, such that the relative order in cycloalkylamine basicity is: cyclohexyl>cyclopentyl>cyclobutyl>cyclopropyl. Herein, it was found that the pKa values of the cAMR and cAMR6G systems can also be predicted by Baeyer ring strain theory. The pKa values for the cAMR6G series were shown to be higher than the cAMR series by a value of approximately 1. PMID:25686771

Effect of Genetically Modified Poplars on Soil Microbial Communities during the Phytoremediation of Waste Mine Tailings▿†

PubMed Central

Hur, Moonsuk; Kim, Yongho; Song, Hae-Ryong; Kim, Jong Min; Choi, Young Im; Yi, Hana

2011-01-01

The application of transgenic plants to clean up environmental pollution caused by the wastes of heavy metal mining is a promising method for removing metal pollutants from soils. However, the effect of using genetically modified organisms for phytoremediation is a poorly researched topic in terms of microbial community structures, despite the important role of microorganisms in the health of soil. In this study, a comparative analysis of the bacterial and archaeal communities found in the rhizosphere of genetically modified (GM) versus wild-type (WT) poplar was conducted on trees at different growth stages (i.e., the rhizospheres of 1.5-, 2.5-, and 3-year-old poplars) that were cultivated on contaminated soils together with nonplanted control soil. Based on the results of DNA pyrosequencing, poplar type and growth stages were associated with directional changes in the structure of the microbial community. The rate of change was faster in GM poplars than in WT poplars, but the microbial communities were identical in the 3-year-old poplars. This phenomenon may arise because of a higher rate and greater extent of metal accumulation in GM poplars than in naturally occurring plants, which resulted in greater changes in soil environments and hence the microbial habitat. PMID:21890678

Insight into structural remodeling of the FlhA ring responsible for bacterial flagellar type III protein export

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

The bacterial flagellum is a supramolecular motility machine. Flagellar assembly begins with the basal body, followed by the hook and finally the filament. A carboxyl-terminal cytoplasmic domain of FlhA (FlhAC) forms a nonameric ring structure in the flagellar type III protein export apparatus and coordinates flagellar protein export with assembly. However, the mechanism of this process remains unknown. We report that a flexible linker of FlhAC (FlhAL) is required not only for FlhAC ring formation but also for substrate specificity switching of the protein export apparatus from the hook protein to the filament protein upon completion of the hook structure. FlhAL was required for cooperative ring formation of FlhAC. Alanine substitutions of residues involved in FlhAC ring formation interfered with the substrate specificity switching, thereby inhibiting filament assembly at the hook tip. These observations lead us to propose a mechanistic model for export switching involving structural remodeling of FlhAC. PMID:29707633

Antibody responses to the chlamydial heat shock proteins hsp60 and hsp70 are H-2 linked.

PubMed Central

Zhong, G; Brunham, R C

1992-01-01

The effects of both H-2 and non-H-2 genes on antibody responses to two Chlamydia trachomatis heat shock proteins (hsp60 and hsp70) were investigated. These chlamydial proteins are homologs of Escherichia coli GroEL (hsp60) and DnaK (hsp70) and are highly sequence conserved between bacterial and mammalian sources. Antibody responses among 17 different strains of mice immunized with C. trachomatis serovar B and serovar C elementary bodies were evaluated by immunoblot, radioimmunoprecipitation and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Antibody responses to the two proteins displayed host genetic restriction. Of six distinctive H-2 haplotypes, only H-2d generated high antibody responses to hsp70. Five of the six H-2 haplotypes, i.e., H-2a, H-2d, H-2k, H-2q, and H-2s, produced high antibody responses to hsp60. Only the H-2b-bearing strain had low antibody responses to hsp60. By using congenic and H-2 recombinant strains, the genes responsible for regulating antibody responses to hsp70 and hsp60 were mapped to the K-IA region of the H-2 locus. In F1 hybrid crosses between high and low responders, high responses to hsp60 and hsp70 were dominant traits. Other genes outside the H-2 locus also influenced antibody responses to hsp60 and hsp70, since inbred strains of identical H-2 but different background genes displayed variable antibody responses to the proteins. The genetic control of murine immune responses to C. trachomatis hsp60, a putative chlamydial immunopathologic antigen, suggests that a similar genetic mechanism may also exist in humans, and this observation may help to explain the observed variability in the spectrum of chlamydial diseases seen in humans. Images PMID:1639484

A primary microcephaly protein complex forms a ring around parental centrioles.

PubMed

Sir, Joo-Hee; Barr, Alexis R; Nicholas, Adeline K; Carvalho, Ofelia P; Khurshid, Maryam; Sossick, Alex; Reichelt, Stefanie; D'Santos, Clive; Woods, C Geoffrey; Gergely, Fanni

2011-10-09

Autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (MCPH) is characterized by a substantial reduction in prenatal human brain growth without alteration of the cerebral architecture and is caused by biallelic mutations in genes coding for a subset of centrosomal proteins. Although at least three of these proteins have been implicated in centrosome duplication, the nature of the centrosome dysfunction that underlies the neurodevelopmental defect in MCPH is unclear. Here we report a homozygous MCPH-causing mutation in human CEP63. CEP63 forms a complex with another MCPH protein, CEP152, a conserved centrosome duplication factor. Together, these two proteins are essential for maintaining normal centrosome numbers in cells. Using super-resolution microscopy, we found that CEP63 and CEP152 co-localize in a discrete ring around the proximal end of the parental centriole, a pattern specifically disrupted in CEP63-deficient cells derived from patients with MCPH. This work suggests that the CEP152-CEP63 ring-like structure ensures normal neurodevelopment and that its impairment particularly affects human cerebral cortex growth.

Recombinant Salmonella expressing SspH2-EscI fusion protein limits its colonization in mice.

PubMed

Hu, Maozhi; Zhao, Weixin; Gao, Wei; Li, Wenhua; Meng, Chuang; Yan, Qiuxiang; Wang, Yuyang; Zhou, Xiaohui; Geng, Shizhong; Pan, Zhiming; Cui, Guiyou; Jiao, Xinan

2017-05-03

Activation of inflammasome contributes to the clearance of intracellular bacteria. C-terminus of E. coli EscI protein can activate NLRC4 (NLR family, CARD domain containing-4) inflammasome in macrophages. The purpose of this study was to determine if activation of NLRC4 inflammasome by EscI can reduce the colonization of Salmonella in mice. A recombinant S. typhimurium strain expressing fusion protein of the N-terminal SspH2 (a Salmonella type III secretion system 2 effector) and C-terminal EscI was constructed and designated as X4550(pYA3334-SspH2-EscI). In vitro assay showed that X4550(pYA3334-SspH2-EscI) significantly enhanced IL-1β and IL-18 secretion (P < 0.05) and pyroptotic cell death of mouse peritoneal macrophages, compared with those infected with control strain, X4550(pYA3334-SspH2). In vivo studies showed that colonization of X4550(pYA3334-SspH2-EscI) in both spleen and liver were significantly lower than that of X4550(pYA3334-SspH2) (P < 0.05). The bacterial counts of X4550(pYA3334-SspH2-EscI) in mice decreased, while those of X4550(pYA3334-SspH2) increased over the time after infection. Additionally, X4550(pYA3334-SspH2-EscI) induced a less pathological alteration in spleen and liver than X4550(pYA3334-SspH2). Fusion protein SspH2-EscI may be translocated into macrophages and activate NLRC4 inflammasome, which limits Salmonella colonization in spleen and liver of mice.

Screening host proteins required for bacterial adherence after H9N2 virus infection.

PubMed

Ma, Li-Li; Sun, Zhen-Hong; Xu, Yu-Lin; Wang, Shu-Juan; Wang, Hui-Ning; Zhang, Hao; Hu, Li-Ping; Sun, Xiao-Mei; Zhu, Lin; Shang, Hong-Qi; Zhu, Rui-Liang; Wei, Kai

2018-01-01

H9N2 subtype low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV) is distributed worldwide and causes great economic losses in the poultry industry, especially when complicated with other bacterial infections. Tissue damages caused by virus infection provide an opportunity for bacteria invasion, but this mechanism is not sufficient for low pathogenic strains. Moreover, although H9N2 virus infection was demonstrated to promote bacterial infection in several studies, its mechanism remained unclear. In this study, infection experiments in vivo and in vitro demonstrated that the adhesion of Escherichia coli (E. coli) to host cells significantly increased after H9N2 virus infection, and this increase was not caused by pathological damages. Subsequently, we constructed a late chicken embryo infection model and used proteomics techniques to analyze the expression of proteins associated with bacterial adhesion after H9N2 virus infection. A total of 279 significantly differential expressed proteins were detected through isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) coupled with nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (nano-LC-MS/MS) analysis. The results of Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that differentially expressed proteins were enriched in host innate immunity; cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis; and pathogenicity-related signaling pathways. Finally, we screened out several proteins, such as TGF-β1, integrins, cortactin, E-cadherin, vinculin, and fibromodulin, which were probably associated with bacterial adhesion. The study analyzed the mechanism of secondary bacterial infection induced by H9N2 virus infection from a novel perspective, which provided theoretical and data support for investigating the synergistic infection mechanism between the H9N2 virus and bacteria. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multifunctional Nature of the Arenavirus RING Finger Protein Z

PubMed Central

Fehling, Sarah Katharina; Lennartz, Frank; Strecker, Thomas

2012-01-01

Arenaviruses are a family of enveloped negative-stranded RNA viruses that can cause severe human disease ranging from encephalitis symptoms to fulminant hemorrhagic fever. The bi‑segmented RNA genome encodes four polypeptides: the nucleoprotein NP, the surface glycoprotein GP, the polymerase L, and the RING finger protein Z. Although it is the smallest arenavirus protein with a length of 90 to 99 amino acids and a molecular weight of approx. 11 kDa, the Z protein has multiple functions in the viral life cycle including (i) regulation of viral RNA synthesis, (ii) orchestration of viral assembly and budding, (iii) interaction with host cell proteins, and (iv) interferon antagonism. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the structural and functional role of the Z protein in the arenavirus replication cycle. PMID:23202512

2-(2-Thien­yl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole

PubMed Central

Kia, Reza; Fun, Hoong-Kun; Kargar, Hadi

2009-01-01

In title compound, C7H8N2S, the five-membered rings are twisted by a dihedral angle of 5.17 (10)°. Two inter­molecular N—H⋯N and C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds to the same acceptor N atom form seven-membered rings, producing R 2 1(7) ring motifs. These inter­actions link neighbouring mol­ecules into one-dimensional chains extended along the c axis. The crystal structure is further stabilized by weak inter­molecular C—H⋯π inter­actions. PMID:21581910

Role of protein concentration and protein-saliva interactions in the astringency of whey proteins at low pH.

PubMed

Kelly, M; Vardhanabhuti, B; Luck, P; Drake, M A; Osborne, J; Foegeding, E A

2010-05-01

Whey protein beverages are adjusted to pH <4.5 to enhance clarity and stability, but this pH level is also associated with increased astringency. The goal of this investigation was to determine the effects of protein concentration on astringency and interactions between whey and salivary proteins. Whey protein beverages containing 0.25 to 13% (wt/wt) beta-lactoglobulin and 0.017% (wt/wt) sucralose at pH 2.6 to 4.2 were examined using descriptive sensory analysis. Controls were similar pH phosphate buffers at phosphate concentrations equivalent to the amount of phosphoric acid required to adjust the pH of the protein solution. Changes in astringency with protein concentration depended on pH. At pH 3.5, astringency significantly increased with protein concentration from 0.25 to 4% (wt/wt) and then remained constant from 4 to 13% (wt/wt). Conversely, at pH 2.6, astringency decreased with an increase in protein concentration [0.5-10% (wt/wt)]. This suggests a complex relationship that includes pH and buffering capacity of the beverages. Furthermore, saliva flow rates increased with increasing protein concentrations, showing that the physiological conditions in the mouth change with protein concentration. Maximum turbidity of whey protein-saliva mixtures was observed between pH 4.6 and 5.2. Both sensory evaluation and in vitro study of interactions between beta-LG and saliva indicate that astringency of whey proteins is a complex process determined by the extent of aggregation occurring in the mouth, which depends on the whey protein beverage pH and buffering capacity in addition to saliva flow rate. Copyright 2010 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MEASURING OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS USING METABOLIC 2H-LABELING, HIGH-RESOLUTION MASS SPECTROMETRY AND AN ALGORITHM

PubMed Central

Kasumov, Takhar; Ilchenko, Sergey; Li, Ling; Rachdaoui, Nadia; Sadigov, Rovshan; Willard, Belinda; McCullough, Arthur J.; Previs, Stephen

2013-01-01

We recently developed a method for estimating protin dynamics in vivo with 2H2O using MALDI-TOF MS (Rachdaoui N. et al., MCP, 8, 2653-2662, 2009) and we confirmed that 2H-labeling of many hepatic free amino acids rapidly equilibrated with body water. Although this is a reliable method, it required modest sample purification and necessitated the determination of tissue-specific amino acid labeling. Another approach for quantifying protein kinetics is to measure the 2H-enrichments of body water (precursor) and protein-bound amino acid or proteolytic peptide (product) and to estimate how many copies of deuterium are incorporated into a product. In this study we have used nanospray LTQ-FTICR mass spectrometry to simultaneously measure the isotopic enrichment of peptides and protein-bound amino acids. A mathematical algorithm was developed to aid the data processing. The most notable improvement centers on the fact that the precursor:product labeling ratio can be obtained by measuring the labeling of water and a protein(s) (or peptides) of interest, therein minimizing the need to measure the amino acid labeling. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate that this approach can detect the effect of nutritional status on albumin synthesis in rats given 2H2O. PMID:21256107

REVIEW OF AGING DATA ON EPDM O-RINGS IN THE H1616 SHIPPING PACKAGE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Skidmore, E.

Currently, all H1616 shipping package containers undergo annual re-verification testing, including containment vessel leak testing to verify leak-tightness (<1 x 10{sup -7} ref cc/sec air) as per ANSI N14.5. The purpose of this literature review is to supplement aging studies currently being performed by SRNL on the EPDM O-rings to provide the technical basis for extending annual re-verification testing for the H1616 shipping package and to predict the life of the seals at bounding service conditions. The available data suggest that the EPDM O-rings can retain significant mechanical properties and sealing force at or below bounding service temperatures (169 Fmore » or 76 C) beyond the 1 year maintenance period. Interpretation of available data suggests that a service life of at least 2 years and potentially 4-6 years may be possible at bounding temperatures. Seal lifetimes at lower, more realistic temperatures will likely be longer. Being a hydrocarbon elastomer, EPDM O-rings may exhibit an inhibition period due to the presence of antioxidants. Once antioxidants are consumed, mechanical properties and seal performance could decline at a faster rate. Testing is being performed to validate the assumptions outlined in this report and to assess the long-term performance of O-ring seals under actual service conditions.« less

Genetic structure and regulation of isoprene synthase in Poplar (Populus spp.).

PubMed

Vickers, Claudia E; Possell, Malcolm; Nicholas Hewitt, C; Mullineaux, Philip M

2010-07-01

Isoprene is a volatile 5-carbon hydrocarbon derived from the chloroplastic methylerythritol 2-C-methyl-D: -erythritol 4-phosphate isoprenoid pathway. In plants, isoprene emission is controlled by the enzyme isoprene synthase; however, there is still relatively little known about the genetics and regulation of this enzyme. Isoprene synthase gene structure was analysed in three poplar species. It was found that genes encoding stromal isoprene synthase exist as a small gene family, the members of which encode virtually identical proteins and are differentially regulated. Accumulation of isoprene synthase protein is developmentally regulated, but does not differ between sun and shade leaves and does not increase when heat stress is applied. Our data suggest that, in mature leaves, isoprene emission rates are primarily determined by substrate (dimethylallyl diphosphate, DMADP) availability. In immature leaves, where isoprene synthase levels are variable, emission levels are also influenced by the amount of isoprene synthase protein. No thylakoid isoforms could be identified in Populus alba or in Salix babylonica. Together, these data show that control of isoprene emission at the genetic level is far more complicated than previously assumed.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new 2-(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-1,4-benzoxazine derivatives.

PubMed

Touzeau, Frédérique; Arrault, Axelle; Guillaumet, Gérald; Scalbert, Elizabeth; Pfeiffer, Bruno; Rettori, Marie-Claire; Renard, Pierre; Mérour, Jean-Yves

2003-05-08

2-(4,5-Dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-1,4-benzoxazine derivatives and tricyclic analogues with a fused additional ring on the nitrogen atom of the benzoxazine moiety have been prepared and evaluated for their cardiovascular effects as potential antihypertensive agents. The imidazoline ring was generated by reaction of the corresponding ethyl ester with ethylenediamine. Affinities for imidazoline binding sites (IBS) I(1) and I(2) and alpha(1) and alpha(2) adrenergic receptors were evaluated as well as the effects on mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) of spontaneously hypertensive rats. With few exceptions the most active compounds on MAP were those with high affinities for IBS and alpha(2) receptor. Among these, compound 4h was the most interesting and is now, together with its enantiomers, under complementary pharmacological evaluation.

7. GENERAL VIEW EAST FROM ROOFTOP OF POPLAR FOREST TOWARDS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

7. GENERAL VIEW EAST FROM ROOFTOP OF POPLAR FOREST TOWARDS SUMMER KITCHEN (FOREGROUND) AND DAIRY; CHIMNEY OF SOUTH TENANT HOUSE BARELY VISIBLE THROUGH TREES; EAST PRIVY RARELY VISIBLE OVER EAST MOUND (1987) - Poplar Forest, Summer Kitchen, State Route 661, Forest, Bedford County, VA

Effect of calcium cyanamide on growth and nutrition of plan fed yellow-poplar seedlings

Treesearch

L.R. Auchmoody; G.W. Wendel; G.W. Wendel

1973-01-01

Calcium cyanamide, a nitrogenous fertilizer that also acts as an herbicide, was evaluated over a 3-year period for use in establishing planted yellow-poplar on an old-field site. Results of this study show that first and second year growth of yellow-poplar can be increased by nbroadcasting CaCN2 around the seedlings. When applied at rates of 400 to 500 pounds of...

Synthesis and activity mechanism of some novel 2-substituted benzothiazoles as hGSTP1-1 enzyme inhibitors.

PubMed

Bolelli, K; Musdal, Y; Aki-Yalcin, E; Mannervik, B; Yalcin, I

2017-11-01

Human GSTP1-1 is one of the most important proteins, which overexpresses in a large number of human tumours and is involved in the development of resistance to several anticancer drugs. So, it has become an important target in cancer treatment. In this study, 12 benzothiazole derivatives were synthesized and screened for their in vitro inhibitory activity for hGSTP1-1. Among these compounds, two of them (compounds #2 and #5) have been found to be the leads when compared with the reference drug etoposide. In order to analyse the structure-activity relationships (SARs) and to investigate the binding side interactions of the observed lead compounds, a HipHop pharmacophore model was generated and the molecular docking studies were performed by using CDocker method. In conclusion, it is observed that the lead compounds #2 and #5 possessed inhibitory activity on the hGSTP1-1 by binding to the H-site as a substrate in which the para position of the phenyl ring of the benzamide moiety on the benzothiazole ring is important. Substitution at this position with a hydrophobic group that reduces the electron density at the phenyl ring is required for the interaction with the H side active residue Tyr108.

Protein kinase G–regulated production of H2S governs oxygen sensing

PubMed Central

Yuan, Guoxiang; Vasavda, Chirag; Peng, Ying-Jie; Makarenko, Vladislav V.; Raghuraman, Gayatri; Nanduri, Jayasri; Gadalla, Moataz M.; Semenza, Gregg L.; Kumar, Ganesh K.; Snyder, Solomon H.; Prabhakar, Nanduri R.

2015-01-01

Reflexes initiated by the carotid body, the principal O2-sensing organ, are critical for maintaining cardio-respiratory homeostasis during hypoxia. O2 sensing by the carotid body requires carbon monoxide (CO) generation by heme oxygenase-2 (HO-2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) synthesis by cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE). We report that O2 stimulated the generation of CO, but not that of H2S, and required two cysteine residues in the heme regulatory motif (Cys265 and Cys282) of HO-2. CO stimulated protein kinase G (PKG)–dependent phosphorylation of Ser377 of CSE, inhibiting the production of H2S. Hypoxia decreased the inhibition of CSE by reducing CO generation resulting in increased H2S, which stimulated carotid body neural activity. In carotid bodies from mice lacking HO-2, compensatory increased abundance of nNOS (neuronal nitric oxide synthase) mediated O2 sensing through PKG-dependent regulation of H2S by nitric oxide. These results provide a mechanism for how three gases work in concert in the carotid body to regulate breathing. PMID:25900831

Symptoms of Nutrient Deficiency in Yellow-Poplar Seedlings

Treesearch

Albert F. Ike

1968-01-01

Visual symptoms are described for leaves of yellow-poplar seedlings supplied N, P. and K in varying concentrations ranging from minimal to excessive. Probability of growth responses to added N is high when tissue levels are below 2 percent; no response is likely when they exceed 3 percent.

The neutralizing antibody response to the vaccinia virus A28 protein is specifically enhanced by its association with the H2 protein

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shinoda, Kaori; Wyatt, Linda S.; Moss, Bernard, E-mail: bmoss@niaid.nih.go

2010-09-15

The vaccinia virus (VACV) entry-fusion complex (EFC) is composed of at least nine membrane proteins. Immunization of mice with individual EFC genes induced corresponding protein-binding antibody but failed to protect against VACV intranasal challenge and only DNA encoding A28 elicited low neutralizing antibody. Because the A28 and H2 proteins interact, we determined the effect of immunizing with both genes simultaneously. This procedure greatly enhanced the amount of antibody that bound intact virions, neutralized infectivity, and provided partial protection against respiratory challenge. Neither injection of A28 and H2 plasmids at different sites or mixing A28 and H2 sera enhanced neutralizing antibody.more » The neutralizing antibody could be completely removed by binding to the A28 protein alone and the epitope was located in the C-terminal segment. These data suggest that the interaction of H2 with A28 stabilizes the immunogenic form of A28, mimicking an exposed region of the entry-fusion complex on infectious virions.« less

Effects of young poplar plantations on understory plant diversity in the Dongting Lake wetlands, China

PubMed Central

Li, Youzhi; Chen, Xinsheng; Xie, Yonghong; Li, Xu; Li, Feng; Hou, Zhiyong

2014-01-01

This study evaluated the effects of young poplar plantations on understory plant diversity in the Dongting Lake wetlands, China. Poplar plantations resulted in a higher species number and Shannon's diversity. Species compositions were different between areas with poplar and reed populations: a lower ratio of hygrophytes but a higher ratio of mesophytes, and a higher ratio of heliophytes but a lower ratio of neutrophilous or shade plants in poplar areas compared to reed areas. Poplar plantations supported a higher ratio of ligneous plants in the entire Dongting Lake area, but there was no difference in the monitored plots. Unlike reedy areas, poplar plantations had higher light availability but lower soil water content during the growing seasons. These data suggest that young poplar plantations generally increased species richness and plant diversity, but significantly changed species composition due to the reduced soil water and increased light availability. PMID:25208975

Synthesis and PGE(2) production inhibition of 1H-furan-2,5-dione and 1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione derivatives.

PubMed

Moon, Jong Taik; Jeon, Ji Young; Park, Hang Ah; Noh, Young-Soo; Lee, Kyung-Tae; Kim, Jungahn; Choo, Dong Joon; Lee, Jae Yeol

2010-01-15

3,4-Diphenyl-substituted 1H-furan-2,5-dione and 1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for the inhibitory activities on LPS-induced PGE(2) production in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Both 1H-furan-2,5-dione and 1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione rings as main scaffolds were easily obtained using one of three synthetic methods. Among the compounds investigated, 1H-3-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)-4-phenyl-pyrrole-2,5-dione (6l) showed a strong inhibitory activity (IC(50)=0.61microM) of PGE(2) production. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term response of yellow-poplar to thinning in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Treesearch

Tara L. Keyser; Peter M. Brown

2015-01-01

Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) is the most abundant individual tree species (in terms of volume) in the southern Appalachian Mountains, with Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) reports documenting a continuous increase in yellow-poplar over the recent years (Brown 2003, Schweitzer 1999, Thompson 1998). Current management efforts in evenaged yellow-poplar...

Tandem pseudopericyclic reactions: [1,5]-X sigmatropic shift/6pi-electrocyclic ring closure converting N-(2-X-carbonyl)phenyl ketenimines into 2-X-quinolin-4(3H)-ones.

PubMed

Alajarín, Mateo; Ortín, María-Mar; Sanchez-Andrada, Pilar; Vidal, Angel

2006-10-13

N-(2-X-Carbonyl)phenyl ketenimines undergo, under mild thermal conditions, [1,5]-migration of the X group from the carbonyl carbon to the electron-deficient central carbon atom of the ketenimine fragment, followed by a 6pi-electrocyclic ring closure of the resulting ketene to provide 2-X-substituted quinolin-4(3H)-ones in a sequential one-pot manner. The X groups tested are electron-donor groups, such as alkylthio, arylthio, arylseleno, aryloxy, and amino. When involving alkylthio, arylthio, and arylseleno groups, the complete transformation takes place in refluxing toluene, whereas for aryloxy and amino groups the starting ketenimines must be heated at 230 degrees C in a sealed tube in the absence of solvent. The mechanism for the conversion of these ketenimines into quinolin-4(3H)-ones has been studied by ab initio and DFT calculations, using as model compounds N-(2-X-carbonyl)vinyl ketenimines bearing different X groups (X = F, Cl, OH, SH, NH(2), and PH(2)) converting into 4(3H)-pyridones. This computational study afforded two general reaction pathways for the first step of the sequence, the [1,5]-X shift, depending on the nature of X. When X is F, Cl, OH, or SH, the migration occurs in a concerted mode, whereas when X is NH(2) or PH(2), it involves a two-step sequence. The order of migratory aptitudes of the X substituents at the acyl group is predicted to be PH(2) > Cl > SH > NH(2) > F> OH. The second step of the full transformation, the 6pi-electrocyclic ring closure, is calculated to be concerted and with low energy barriers in all the cases. We have included in the calculations an alternative mode of cyclization of the N-(2-X-carbonyl)vinyl ketenimines, the 6pi-electrocyclic ring closure leading to 1,3-oxazines that involves its 1-oxo-5-aza-1,3,5-hexatrienic system. Additionally, the pseudopericyclic topology of the transition states for some of the [1,5]-X migrations (X = F, Cl, OH, SH), for the 6pi-electrocyclization of the ketene intermediates to the 4

Synthetic and Spectroscopic Studies on N-(i,j-Disubstituted Phenyl)-4- Substituted Benzenesulphonamides, 4-X'C6H4SO2NH(i,j-X2C6H3), where X' = H, CH3, C2H5, F, Cl or Br; i, j = 2, 3; 2, 4; 2, 5; 2, 6 or 3, 4; and X = CH3 or Cl

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shetty, Mahesha; Gowda, B. Thimme

2005-02-01

Fifty four N-(i,j-disubstituted phenyl)-4-substituted benzenesulphonamides of the general formula 4-X'C6H4SO2NH(i,j-X2C6H3), where X' = H, CH3, C2H5, F, Cl or Br; i,j = 2,3; 2,4; 2,5; 2,6 or 3, 4; and X = CH3 or Cl, are prepared and characterized and their infrared, 1H and 13C NMR spectra in solution are studied. The N-H stretching vibrations νN-H absorb in the range 3305 - 3205 cm-1, while the asymmetric and symmetric SO2 vibrations vary in the ranges 1377 - 1307 cm-1 and 1184 - 1128 cm-1, respectively. The N-(i,j-disubstituted phenyl)-4-substituted benzenesulphonamides show C-S, S-N and C-N stretching vibrations in the ranges 844 - 800 cm-1, 945 - 891 cm-1 and 1309 - 1170 cm-1, respectively. The compounds do not exhibit particular trends in the variation of these frequencies on substitution either at ortho or meta positions with either a methyl group or Cl. The observed 1H and 13C chemical shifts of 2.jpg" /> are assigned to protons and carbon atoms of the two benzene rings. Incremental shifts of the ring protons and carbon atoms due to -SO2NH(i,j-X2C6H3) groups in C6H5SO2NH(i,j-X2C6H3) and 4-X'C6H4SO2NH- groups in 4-X'C6H4SO2NH(C6H*) are computed and employed to calculate the chemical shifts of the ring protons and carbon atoms in the substituted compounds 4-X'C6H4SO2NH(i,j-X2C6H3). The different methods of calculation lead to almost the same values in most cases and agree well with the observed chemical shifts, indicating the validity of the principle of additivity of the substituent effects with chemical shifts in these compounds.

Weed Control for Establishing Intensively Cultured Hybrid Poplar Plantations

Treesearch

Edward Hansen; Daniel Netzer; W.J. Rietveld

1984-01-01

Compares effeects of various wee-control methods, including hericides, cultivation, and legume cover crop, on tree survival and height growth of 2-year-old hybrid poplars. Cultivation and herbicides singly or in combination gave consistently better results than the other treatment tested.

Measurement of protein synthesis: in vitro comparison of (68)Ga-DOTA-puromycin, [ (3)H]tyrosine, and 2-fluoro-[ (3)H]tyrosine.

PubMed

Eigner, Sebastian; Beckford Vera, Denis R; Fellner, Marco; Loktionova, Natalia S; Piel, Markus; Melichar, Frantisek; Rösch, Frank; Roß, Tobias L; Lebeda, Ondrej; Henke, Katerina Eigner

2013-01-01

Puromycin has played an important role in our understanding of the eukaryotic ribosome and protein synthesis. It has been known for more than 40 years that this antibiotic is a universal protein synthesis inhibitor that acts as a structural analog of an aminoacyl-transfer RNA (aa-tRNA) in eukaryotic ribosomes. Due to the role of enzymes and their synthesis in situations of need (DNA damage, e.g., after chemo- or radiation therapy), determination of protein synthesis is important for control of antitumor therapy, to enhance long-term survival of tumor patients, and to minimize side-effects of therapy. Multiple attempts to reach this goal have been made through the last decades, mostly using radiolabeled amino acids, with limited or unsatisfactory success. The aim of this study is to estimate the possibility of determining protein synthesis ratios by using (68)Ga-DOTA-puromycin ((68)Ga-DOTA-Pur), [(3)H]tyrosine, and 2-fluoro-[(3)H]tyrosine and to estimate the possibility of different pathways due to the fluorination of tyrosine. DOTA-puromycin was synthesized using a puromycin-tethered controlled-pore glass (CPG) support by the usual protocol for automated DNA and RNA synthesis following our design. (68)Ga was obtained from a (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator as described previously by Zhernosekov et al. (J Nucl Med 48:1741-1748, 2007). The purified eluate was used for labeling of DOTA-puromycin at 95°C for 20 min. [(3)H]Tyrosine and 2-fluoro-[(3)H]tyrosine of the highest purity available were purchased from Moravek (Bera, USA) or Amersham Biosciences (Hammersmith, UK). In vitro uptake and protein incorporation as well as in vitro inhibition experiments using cycloheximide to inhibit protein synthesis were carried out for all three substances in DU145 prostate carcinoma cells (ATCC, USA). (68)Ga-DOTA-Pur was additionally used for μPET imaging of Walker carcinomas and AT1 tumors in rats. Dynamic scans were performed for 45 min after IV application (tail vein) of 20-25 MBq (68

Effect of Continuous Cropping Generations on Each Component Biomass of Poplar Seedlings during Different Growth Periods

PubMed Central

Xia, Jiangbao; Zhang, Shuyong; Li, Tian; Liu, Xia; Zhang, Ronghua; Zhang, Guangcan

2014-01-01

In order to investigate the change rules and response characteristics of growth status on each component of poplar seedling followed by continuous cropping generations and growth period, we clear the biomass distribution pattern of poplar seedling, adapt continuous cropping, and provide theoretical foundation and technical reference on cultivation management of poplar seedling, the first generation, second generation, and third generation continuous cropping poplar seedlings were taken as study objects, and the whole poplar seedling was harvested to measure and analyze the change of each component biomass on different growth period poplar leaves, newly emerging branches, trunks and root system, and so forth. The results showed that the whole biomass of poplar seedling decreased significantly with the leaf area and its ratio increased, and the growth was inhibited obviously. The biomass aboveground was more than that underground. The ratios of leaf biomass and newly emerging branches biomass of first continuous cropping poplar seedling were relatively high. With the continuous cropping generations and growth cycle increasing, poplar seedling had a growth strategy to improve the ratio of root-shoot and root-leaf to adapt the limited soil nutrient of continuous cropping. PMID:25401150

Post-Transcriptional Coordination of the Arabidopsis Iron Deficiency Response is Partially Dependent on the E3 Ligases RING DOMAIN LIGASE1 (RGLG1) and RING DOMAIN LIGASE2 (RGLG2)*

PubMed Central

Pan, I-Chun; Tsai, Huei-Hsuan; Cheng, Ya-Tan; Wen, Tuan-Nan; Buckhout, Thomas J.; Schmidt, Wolfgang

2015-01-01

Acclimation to changing environmental conditions is mediated by proteins, the abundance of which is carefully tuned by an elaborate interplay of DNA-templated and post-transcriptional processes. To dissect the mechanisms that control and mediate cellular iron homeostasis, we conducted quantitative high-resolution iTRAQ proteomics and microarray-based transcriptomic profiling of iron-deficient Arabidopsis thaliana plants. A total of 13,706 and 12,124 proteins was identified with a quadrupole-Orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer in roots and leaves, respectively. This deep proteomic coverage allowed accurate estimates of post-transcriptional regulation in response to iron deficiency. Similarly regulated transcripts were detected in only 13% (roots) and 11% (leaves) of the 886 proteins that differentially accumulated between iron-sufficient and iron-deficient plants, indicating that the majority of the iron-responsive proteins was post-transcriptionally regulated. Mutants harboring defects in the RING DOMAIN LIGASE1 (RGLG1)1 and RING DOMAIN LIGASE2 (RGLG2) showed a pleiotropic phenotype that resembled iron-deficient plants with reduced trichome density and the formation of branched root hairs. Proteomic and transcriptomic profiling of rglg1 rglg2 double mutants revealed that the functional RGLG protein is required for the regulation of a large set of iron-responsive proteins including the coordinated expression of ribosomal proteins. This integrative analysis provides a detailed catalog of post-transcriptionally regulated proteins and allows the concept of a chiefly transcriptionally regulated iron deficiency response to be revisited. Protein data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD002126. PMID:26253232

Identification of putative Z-ring-associated proteins, involved in cell division in human pathogenic bacteria Helicobacter pylori.

PubMed

Kamran, Mohammad; Sinha, Swati; Dubey, Priyanka; Lynn, Andrew M; Dhar, Suman K

2016-07-01

Cell division in bacteria is initiated by FtsZ, which forms a Z ring at the middle of the cell, between the nucleoids. The Z ring is stabilized by Z ring-associated proteins (Zaps), which crosslink the FtsZ filaments and provide strength. The deletion of Zaps leads to the elongation phenotype with an abnormal Z ring. The components of cell division in Helicobacter pylori are similar to other gram negative bacteria except for the absence of few components including Zaps. Here, we used HHsearch to identify homologs of the missing cell division proteins and got potential hits for ZapA and ZapB, as well as for few other cell division proteins. We further validated the function of the putative ZapA homolog by genetic complementation, immuno-colocalization and biochemical analysis. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

{Mo96La8} eggshell ring and self-assembly to {Mo132} Keplerate through Mo-blue intermediate, involved in UV-photolysis of [Mo7O24](6-)/carboxylic acid system at pH 4.

PubMed

Yamase, Toshihiro; Kumagai, Shun; Prokop, Petra V; Ishikawa, Eri; Tomsa, Adrian-Raul

2010-10-18

The prolonged UV-photolysis of aqueous solutions containing [Mo(7)O(24)](6-) and C(2)H(5)CO(2)H (as electron donor) at pH 3.9-4.1 generates the carboxylate-coordinated {Mo(132)} Keplerate (1a) isolated as a formamidinium/ammonium-mixed salt, [HC(NH(2))(2)](26)(NH(4))(28)[Mo(V)(60)Mo(VI)(72)O(372)(H(2)O)(48)(C(2)H(5)CO(2))(36)((i)C(3)H(7)CO(2))(6)]·16H(2)O (1), through the Mo-blue intermediate (2). The coordination of 2 to La(3+) gives rise to the formation of the chain structure of the C(2)-symmetric {Mo(96)La(8)} eggshell rings, formulated by H(22)[Mo(V)(20)Mo(VI)(76)O(301)(H(2)O)(29){La(H(2)O)(6)}(2)]{La(H(2)O)(5)}(6)]·54.5H(2)O (3). The eggshell-ring geometry results from the insertion of [Mo(VI)(2)O(7)(H(2)O)](2-) (spacer) into the equator outer ring of the wheel-shaped Mo-blue, and 10 {(Mo(VI))(Mo(VI)(5))} pentagonal subunits alternately above and below the equator outer ring are connected by eight La(3+) and two {Mo(VI)(2)} linkers within two inner rings. The neighboring eggshell rings are linked through two Mo-O-Mo bonds formed by dehydrative condensation between the {Mo(VI)(2)} linkers to result in the chain structure. Together with the results of the elemental analysis and IR, electronic absorption, (13)C NMR, and ESI-MS spectra for 2, the ring profile analysis of 3 let us identify 2 with a carbolylate-coordinated Mo-blue ring of high nuclearity. The Mo(VI)→Mo(V) photoreductive change of 2 to the 60-electron reduced Keplerate in the presence of C(2)H(5)CO(2)H involves both degradation of the outer ring and splitting of the binuclear linkers, which leads to the formation of [(Mo(VI))Mo(VI)(5)O(21)(H(2)O)(4)(carboxylate)](7-) pentagonal subunits and [Mo(V)(2)O(4)(carboxylate)](+)/[Mo(V)O(2)(carboxylate)(1/2)](0.5+)-mixed linkers for 1.

Wood reinforcement of poplar by rice NAC transcription factor

PubMed Central

Sakamoto, Shingo; Takata, Naoki; Oshima, Yoshimi; Yoshida, Kouki; Taniguchi, Toru; Mitsuda, Nobutaka

2016-01-01

Lignocellulose, composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, in the secondary cell wall constitutes wood and is the most abundant form of biomass on Earth. Enhancement of wood accumulation may be an effective strategy to increase biomass as well as wood strength, but currently only limited research has been undertaken. Here, we demonstrated that OsSWN1, the orthologue of the rice NAC Secondary-wall Thickening factor (NST) transcription factor, effectively enhanced secondary cell wall formation in the Arabidopsis inflorescence stem and poplar (Populus tremula×Populus tremuloides) stem when expressed by the Arabidopsis NST3 promoter. Interestingly, in transgenic Arabidopsis and poplar, ectopic secondary cell wall deposition in the pith area was observed in addition to densification of the secondary cell wall in fiber cells. The cell wall content or density of the stem increased on average by up to 38% and 39% in Arabidopsis and poplar, respectively, without causing growth inhibition. As a result, physical strength of the stem increased by up to 57% in poplar. Collectively, these data suggest that the reinforcement of wood by NST3pro:OsSWN1 is a promising strategy to enhance wood-biomass production in dicotyledonous plant species. PMID:26812961

Human H/ACA Small Nucleolar RNPs and Telomerase Share Evolutionarily Conserved Proteins NHP2 and NOP10

PubMed Central

Pogacic, Vanda; Dragon, François; Filipowicz, Witold

2000-01-01

The H/ACA small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are involved in pseudouridylation of pre-rRNAs. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, four common proteins are associated with H/ACA snoRNAs: Gar1p, Cbf5p, Nhp2p, and Nop10p. In vitro reconstitution studies showed that four proteins also specifically interact with H/ACA snoRNAs in mammalian cell extracts. Two mammalian proteins, NAP57/dyskerin (the ortholog of Cbf5p) and hGAR1, have been characterized. In this work we describe properties of hNOP10 and hNHP2, human orthologs of yeast Nop10p and Nhp2p, respectively, and further characterize hGAR1. hNOP10 and hNHP2 complement yeast cells depleted of Nhp2p and Nop10p, respectively. Immunoprecipitation experiments with extracts from transfected HeLa cells indicated that epitope-tagged hNOP10 and hNHP2 specifically associate with hGAR1 and H/ACA RNAs; they also interact with the RNA subunit of telomerase, which contains an H/ACA-like domain in its 3′ moiety. Immunofluorescence microscopy experiments showed that hGAR1, hNOP10, and hNHP2 are localized in the dense fibrillar component of the nucleolus and in Cajal (coiled) bodies. Deletion analysis of hGAR1 indicated that its evolutionarily conserved core domain contains all the signals required for localization, but progressive deletions from either the N or the C terminus of the core domain abolish localization in the nucleolus and/or the Cajal bodies. PMID:11074001

Isoprene function in two contrasting poplars under salt and sunflecks.

PubMed

Behnke, K; Ghirardo, A; Janz, D; Kanawati, B; Esperschütz, J; Zimmer, I; Schmitt-Kopplin, P; Niinemets, Ü; Polle, A; Schnitzler, J P; Rosenkranz, M

2013-06-01

In the present study, biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions and photosynthetic gas exchange of salt-sensitive (Populus x canescens (Aiton) Sm.) and salt-tolerant (Populus euphratica Oliv.) isoprene-emitting and non-isoprene-emitting poplars were examined under controlled high-salinity and high-temperature and -light episode ('sunfleck') treatments. Combined treatment with salt and sunflecks led to an increased isoprene emission capacity in both poplar species, although the photosynthetic performance of P. × canescens was reduced. Indeed, different allocations of isoprene precursors between the cytosol and the chloroplast in the two species were uncovered by means of (13)CO2 labeling. Populus × canescens leaves, moreover, increased their use of 'alternative' carbon (C) sources in comparison with recently fixed C for isoprene biosynthesis under salinity. Our studies show, however, that isoprene itself does not have a function in poplar survival under salt stress: the non-isoprene-emitting leaves showed only a slightly decreased photosynthetic performance compared with wild type under salt treatment. Lipid composition analysis revealed differences in the double bond index between the isoprene-emitting and non-isoprene-emitting poplars. Four clear metabolomics patterns were recognized, reflecting systemic changes in flavonoids, sterols and C fixation metabolites due to the lack/presence of isoprene and the absence/presence of salt stress. The studies were complemented by long-term temperature stress experiments, which revealed the thermotolerance role of isoprene as the non-isoprene-emitting leaves collapsed under high temperature, releasing a burst of BVOCs. Engineered plants with a low isoprene emission potential might therefore not be capable of resisting high-temperature episodes.

Contractile ring stability in S. pombe depends on F-BAR protein Cdc15p and Bgs1p transport from the Golgi complex.

PubMed

Arasada, Rajesh; Pollard, Thomas D

2014-09-11

Cdc15p is known to contribute to cytokinesis in fission yeast; however, the protein is not required to assemble the contractile ring of actin and myosin, but it helps to anchor the ring to the plasma membrane. Cdc15p has a lipid-binding F-BAR domain, suggesting that it provides a physical link between the plasma membrane and contractile ring proteins. However, we find that a more important function of Cdc15p during cytokinesis is to help deliver a transmembrane enzyme, Bgs1p (also called Cps1p), from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane, where it appears to anchor the contractile ring. Bgs1p synthesizes the cell wall in the cleavage furrow, but its enzyme activity is not required to anchor the contractile ring. We estimate that ∼ 2,000 Bgs1p molecules are required to anchor the ring. Without Bgs1p anchors, contractile rings slide along the plasma membrane, a phenomenon that depends on an unconventional type II myosin called Myp2p. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Potential Utilization of Sweetgum and Yellow-Poplar for Structural Lumber

Treesearch

Timothy D. Faust; Robert H. McAlister; Stanley J. Zarnoch; Christopher B. Stephens

1991-01-01

The forest resource base in the Southeast is rapidly changing. Dwindling reserves of high quality pine sawlogs will provide incentive to utilize low-density hardwoods such as yellow-poplar and sweetgum for structural lumber. Inventories of sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua, L.) and yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera, L.) are currently high and growth is exceeding...

Development of supercritical CO2 extraction of bioactive phytochemicals from black poplar (Populus nigra L.) buds followed by GC-MS and UHPLC-DAD-QqTOF-MS.

PubMed

Kuś, Piotr M; Okińczyc, Piotr; Jakovljević, Martina; Jokić, Stela; Jerković, Igor

2018-05-25

The supercritical CO 2 (SC-CO 2 ) extraction process of black poplar (Populus nigra L.) buds was optimized (pressure, temperature) based on the yields of major phytochemicals (volatiles and non-volatiles). The optimal settings were 30 MPa/60 °C. Major volatiles determined by GC-MS in the optimized SC-CO 2 extract (mg of benzyl salicylate equivalent (BSE) per 100 g of buds) were: pinostrobin chalcone (1574.2), β-eudesmol (640.8), α-eudesmol (581.9), 2-methyl-2-butenyl-p-coumarate (289.9), pentyl-p-coumarate (457.0), γ-eudesmol (294.4), and benzyl salicylate (289.2). Partial qualitative similarity was observed between SC-CO 2 extracts and corresponding hydrodistilled essential oil dominated by sesquiterpenes, but with lower yields. Major compounds (mg per 100 g of buds) identified by UHPLC-DAD-QqTOF-MS in the optimized SC-CO 2 extract were: pinostrobin (751.7), pinocembrin (485.6), 3-O-pinobanksin acetate and methyl-butenyl-p-coumarate (290.2; 144.9 of pinobanksin and p-coumaric acid equivalents, respectively). SC-CO 2 extraction was found useful for green, efficient and simultaneous extraction of both volatile/non-volatile, bioactive phytochemicals of poplar buds - precursors of poplar-type propolis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

21st Session of the International Poplar Commission (IPC-2000): poplar and willow culture: meeting the needs of society and the environment; 200 September 24-28; Vancouver, WA.

Treesearch

J.G. Isebrands; J. Richardson

2000-01-01

Research results and ongoing research activities on poplar and willow breeding, diseases, insects, production, and utilization are described in 220 abstracts from the International Poplar Commission meeting in Vancouver, Washington, September 24-28, 2000.

Moderate salt treatment alleviates ultraviolet-B radiation caused impairment in poplar plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xuan; Ou, Yong-Bin; Gao, Yong-Feng; Lutts, Stanley; Li, Tao-Tao; Wang, Yang; Chen, Yong-Fu; Sun, Yu-Fang; Yao, Yin-An

2016-09-01

The effects of moderate salinity on the responses of woody plants to UV-B radiation were investigated using two Populus species (Populus alba and Populus russkii). Under UV-B radiation, moderate salinity reduced the oxidation pressure in both species, as indicated by lower levels of cellular H2O2 and membrane peroxidation, and weakened the inhibition of photochemical efficiency expressed by O-J-I-P changes. UV-B-induced DNA lesions in chloroplast and nucleus were alleviated by salinity, which could be explained by the higher expression levels of DNA repair system genes under UV-B&salt condition, such as the PHR, DDB2, and MutSα genes. The salt-induced increase in organic osmolytes proline and glycine betaine, afforded more efficient protection against UV-B radiation. Therefore moderate salinity induced cross-tolerance to UV-B stress in poplar plants. It is thus suggested that woody plants growing in moderate salted condition would be less affected by enhanced UV-B radiation than plants growing in the absence of salt. Our results also showed that UV-B signal genes in poplar plants PaCOP1, PaSTO and PaSTH2 were quickly responding to UV-B radiation, but not to salt. The transcripts of PaHY5 and its downstream pathway genes (PaCHS1, PaCHS4, PaFLS1 and PaFLS2) were differently up-regulated by these treatments, but the flavonoid compounds were not involved in the cross-tolerance since their concentration increased to the same extent in both UV-B and combined stresses.

The Crossings of Saturn Ring Plane by the Earth in 1995: Ring Thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poulet, François; Sicardy, Bruno; Dumas, Christophe; Jorda, Laurent; Tiphène, Didier

2000-05-01

The crossings of Saturn's ring plane by Earth were observed in the near infrared on May 22 and August 10, 1995, from the 2.2-m telescope of the University of Hawaii, the 2-m telescope at Pic du Midi, France, and with the Adonis adaptive optics camera at the 3.6-m telescope of the European Southern Observatory in Chile. Images from the Hubble Space Telescope, obtained in August 1995, are also reanalyzed. The radial brightness profiles of the rings indicate that the outer and usually faint F ring dominates the edge-on brightness of the system, thus hiding the vertical structure of the main rings within a few hours around the ring plane crossing. The photometric behaviors of the A, B, and C rings and of the Cassini Division are analyzed, using a radiative transfer code which includes the illuminations by the Sun and by the planet. The F ring is modeled as a physically thick ribbon of height H, composed of large particles embedded in dust of fractional optical depth f. The observed profiles, combined with previous results, can be explained if the F ring is both optically thick ( radial optical depth ˜0.20) and physically thick ( H=21±4 km). We suggest that this vertical distribution results from the interactions between ring particles and shepherding satellites and/or from gravitational stirring by large bodies. The dust particles dominate the F ring's photometric behavior even in backscattered light ( f>0.80). Constraints on the particle properties of the other rings are also derived.

Calcium sensitive ring-like oligomers formed by synaptotagmin

PubMed Central

Wang, Jing; Bello, Oscar; Auclair, Sarah M.; Wang, Jing; Coleman, Jeff; Pincet, Frederic; Krishnakumar, Shyam S.; Sindelar, Charles V.; Rothman, James E.

2014-01-01

The synaptic vesicle protein synaptotagmin-1 (SYT) is required to couple calcium influx to the membrane fusion machinery. However, the structural mechanism underlying this process is unclear. Here we report an unexpected circular arrangement (ring) of SYT’s cytosolic domain (C2AB) formed on lipid monolayers in the absence of free calcium ions as revealed by electron microscopy. Rings vary in diameter from 18–43 nm, corresponding to 11–26 molecules of SYT. Continuous stacking of the SYT rings occasionally converts both lipid monolayers and bilayers into protein-coated tubes. Helical reconstruction of the SYT tubes shows that one of the C2 domains (most likely C2B, based on its biochemical properties) interacts with the membrane and is involved in ring formation, and the other C2 domain points radially outward. SYT rings are disrupted rapidly by physiological concentrations of free calcium but not by magnesium. Assuming that calcium-free SYT rings are physiologically relevant, these results suggest a simple and novel mechanism by which SYT regulates neurotransmitter release: The ring acts as a spacer to prevent the completion of the soluble N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive factor activating protein receptor (SNARE) complex assembly, thereby clamping fusion in the absence of calcium. When the ring disassembles in the presence of calcium, fusion proceeds unimpeded. PMID:25201968

1,4-Bis(4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)benzene dihydrate

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiu-Guang; Li, Jian-Hui; Ding, Bin; Du, Gui-Xiang

2012-01-01

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C10H8N6·2H2O, comprises half the organic species, the mol­ecule being completed by inversion symmetry, and one water mol­ecule. The dihedral angle between the 1,2,4-triazole ring and the central benzene ring is 32.2 (2)°. The water mol­ecules form O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds with N-atom acceptors of the triazole rings. C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds are also observed, giving a three-dimensional framework. PMID:22904851

The Polycomb proteins RING1B and EZH2 repress the tumoral pro-inflammatory function in metastasizing primary cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Hernández-Ruiz, Eugenia; Toll, Agustí; García-Diez, Irene; Andrades, Evelyn; Ferrandiz-Pulido, Carla; Masferrer, Emili; Yébenes, Mireia; Jaka, Ane; Gimeno, Javier; Gimeno, Ramón; García-Patos, Vicenç; Pujol, Ramón M; Hernández-Muñoz, Inmaculada

2018-03-08

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common malignancy in humans and approximately 5% metastasize, usually to regional lymph nodes. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression may allow tumoral cells to acquire new functions in order to escape from the primary tumor. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and function of proteins of the Polycomb family of epigenetic regulators in the metastatic process of cSCC. A higher expression of RING1B and EZH2 was detected by immunohistochemistry in a series of primary cSCC tumors that metastasized (MSCCs) when compared with non-metastasizing cSCCs (non-MSCCs). Stable downregulation of RING1B and EZH2 in cSCC cells results in enhanced expression of inflammatory cytokines and activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Accordingly, non-MSCCs display higher levels of membranous pS176-inhibitor of NF-kB kinase, and their stroma is enriched in neutrophils and eosinophils when compared with MSCCs. In vitro, hematopoietic cells exhibit a substantial migratory response to supernatants from Polycomb-depleted cSCC cells. Altogether, these data indicate that RING1B and EZH2 repress the innate inflammatory cSCC function and impair tumor immunosurveillance and suggest that patients with high-risk cSCCs could benefit from clinical therapies addressed to harness the immune response.

Poplar potassium transporters capable of controlling K+ homeostasis and K+-dependent xylogenesis.

PubMed

Langer, Katharina; Ache, Peter; Geiger, Dietmar; Stinzing, Andrea; Arend, Matthias; Wind, Christa; Regan, Sharon; Fromm, Jörg; Hedrich, Rainer

2002-12-01

The cambial K+ content of poplar increases during the growth period in a K+ supply dependent manner. Upon K+ starvation or application of tetraethylammoniumchloride (TEA+), a K+ channel blocker, the average vessel lumen and expansion zone area were significantly reduced. In search for the molecular basis of potassium-dependent xylogenesis in poplar, K+ transporters homologous to those of known function in Arabidopis phloem- and xylem-physiology were isolated from a poplar wood EST library. The expression profile of three distinct K+ channel types and one K+ transporter, Populus tremula K+ uptake transporter 1 (PtKUP1), was analysed by quantitative RT-PCR. Thereby, we found P. tremula outward rectifying K+ channel (PTORK) and P. tremula K+ channel 2 (PTK2) correlated with the seasonal wood production. K+ transporter P. tremula 1 (KPT1) was predominantly found in guard cells. Following the heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes the biophysical properties of the different channels were determined. PTORK, upon membrane de-polarization mediates potassium release. PTK2 is almost voltage independent, carrying inward K+ flux at hyperpolarized potential and K+ release upon de-polarization. PtKUP1 was expressed in a K+ uptake-deficient Escherichia coli strain, where this K+ transporter rescued K+-dependent growth. In order to link the different K+ transporters to the cambial activity and wood production, we compared the expression profiles to seasonal changes in the K+ content of the bark as well as xylem vessel diameter. Thereby, we found PTORK and PTK2 transcripts to follow the annual K+ variations in poplar branches. PtKUP1 was expressed at a low level throughout the year, suggesting a housekeeping function. From these data, we conclude that K+ channels are involved in the regulation of K+-dependent wood production.

The transcription factor MYB115 contributes to the regulation of proanthocyanidin biosynthesis and enhances fungal resistance in poplar.

PubMed

Wang, Lijun; Ran, Lingyu; Hou, Yisu; Tian, Qiaoyan; Li, Chaofeng; Liu, Rui; Fan, Di; Luo, Keming

2017-07-01

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are major defense phenolic compounds in the leaves of poplar (Populus spp.) in response to abiotic and biotic stresses. Transcriptional regulation of PA biosynthetic genes by the MYB-basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH)-WD40 complexes in poplar is not still fully understood. Here, an Arabidopsis TT2-like gene MYB115 was isolated from Populus tomentosa and characterized by various molecular, genetic and biochemical approaches. MYB115 restored PA productions in the seed coat of the Arabidopsis tt2 mutant. Overexpression of MYB115 in poplar activated expression of PA biosynthetic genes, resulting in a significant increase in PA concentrations. By contrast, the CRISPR/Cas9-generated myb115 mutant exhibited reduced PA content and decreased expression of PA biosynthetic genes. MYB115 directly activated the promoters of PA-specific structural genes. MYB115 interacted with poplar TT8. Coexpression of MYB115, TT8 and poplar TTG1 significantly enhanced the expression of ANR1 and LAR3. Additionally, transgenic plants overexpressing MYB115 had increased resistance to the fungal pathogen Dothiorella gregaria, whereas myb115 mutant exhibited greater sensitivity compared with wild-type plants. Our data provide insight into the regulatory mechanisms controlling PA biosynthesis by MYB115 in poplar, which could be effectively employed for metabolic engineering of PAs to improve resistance to fungal pathogens. No claim to original Chinese Government works New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

4-(4-Methoxy­phen­yl)-1-phenyl­pyridine-2,6(1H,3H)-dione

PubMed Central

Das, Ushati; Chheda, Shardul B.; Pednekar, Suhas R.; Karambelkar, Narendra P.; Guru Row, T. N.

2009-01-01

In the title compound, C18H15NO3, the pyridine-2,6-dione ring adopts an envelope conformation. The phenyl ring lies approximately perpendicular to the mean plane of the pyridine-2,6-dione ring [dihedral angle = 81.5 (1)°], while the methoxy­phenyl ring is tilted to the same plane by a dihedral angle of 34.8 (1)°. Inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions link the mol­ecules into chains along [100]. PMID:21583176

Measurement of Tensor Analyzing Powers for Elastic Electron Scattering from a Polarized 2H Target Internal to a Storage Ring

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

M. Ferro-Luzzi; M. Bouwhuis; E. Passchier

1996-09-23

We report an absolute measurement of the tensor analyzing powers T20 and T22 in elastic electron-deuteron scattering at a momentum transfer of 1.6 fm{sup -1}. The novel approach of this measurement is the use of a tensor polarized 2H target internal to an electron storage ring, with in situ measurement of the polarization of the target gas. Scattered electrons and recoil deuterons were detected in coincidence with two large acceptance nonmagnetic detectors. The techniques demonstrated have broad applicability to further measurements of spin-dependent electron scattering.

Hybrid poplars: fast-growing, disease-resistant species has multiple uses

Treesearch

Ronald S., Jr. Zalesny

2004-01-01

The production of alternative fuels as a source of energy is a focus of concern in the United States. Intensively cultured hybrid poplar plantations have been used to supplement industrial fiber supplies in several areas of the United States, and have therefore gained attention in the North Central region. Attention is focused on poplars because they are fast growing...

Board-Foot and Diameter Growth of Yellow-Poplar After Thinning

Treesearch

Donald E. Beck; Lino Della-Bianca

1975-01-01

Board-foot growth and yield of thinned yellow-poplar stands (Liriodendron tulipifera L.)is related to age, site index, residual basal area, and residual quadratic mean stand diameter after thinning. Diameter growth of individual trees is increased considerably by thinning. Equations describing growth and yield are based on data from 141 natura1 yellow-poplar stands in...

1-(4-Chloro-2-fluoro-phen-yl)-4-difluoro-methyl-3-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-one.

PubMed

Ren, Dong-Mei; Wang, Yong-Yi

2012-04-01

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C(10)H(7)ClF(3)N(3)O, pairs of mol-ecules are connected into dimers via pairs of C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The dihedral angle between the benzene ring and attached triazolone ring is 53.2 (1)°.

Sulphur flux through the sulphate assimilation pathway is differently controlled by adenosine 5'-phosphosulphate reductase under stress and in transgenic poplar plants overexpressing gamma-ECS, SO, or APR.

PubMed

Scheerer, Ursula; Haensch, Robert; Mendel, Ralf R; Kopriva, Stanislav; Rennenberg, Heinz; Herschbach, Cornelia

2010-01-01

Sulphate assimilation provides reduced sulphur for the synthesis of cysteine, methionine, and numerous other essential metabolites and secondary compounds. The key step in the pathway is the reduction of activated sulphate, adenosine 5'-phosphosulphate (APS), to sulphite catalysed by APS reductase (APR). In the present study, [(35)S]sulphur flux from external sulphate into glutathione (GSH) and proteins was analysed to check whether APR controls the flux through the sulphate assimilation pathway in poplar roots under some stress conditions and in transgenic poplars. (i) O-Acetylserine (OAS) induced APR activity and the sulphur flux into GSH. (ii) The herbicide Acetochlor induced APR activity and results in a decline of GSH. Thereby the sulphur flux into GSH or protein remained unaffected. (iii) Cd treatment increased APR activity without any changes in sulphur flux but lowered sulphate uptake. Several transgenic poplar plants that were manipulated in sulphur metabolism were also analysed. (i) Transgenic poplar plants that overexpressed the gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-ECS) gene, the enzyme catalysing the key step in GSH formation, showed an increase in sulphur flux into GSH and sulphate uptake when gamma-ECS was targeted to the cytosol, while no changes in sulphur flux were observed when gamma-ECS was targeted to plastids. (ii) No effect on sulphur flux was observed when the sulphite oxidase (SO) gene from Arabidopsis thaliana, which catalyses the back reaction of APR, that is the reaction from sulphite to sulphate, was overexpressed. (iii) When Lemna minor APR was overexpressed in poplar, APR activity increased as expected, but no changes in sulphur flux were observed. For all of these experiments the flux control coefficient for APR was calculated. APR as a controlling step in sulphate assimilation seems obvious under OAS treatment, in gamma-ECS and SO overexpressing poplars. A possible loss of control under certain conditions, that is Cd treatment

Chloroplast parameters differ in wild type and transgenic poplars overexpressing gsh1 in the cytosol.

PubMed

Ivanova, L A; Ronzhina, D A; Ivanov, L A; Stroukova, L V; Peuke, A D; Rennenberg, H

2009-07-01

Poplar mutants overexpressing the bacterial genes gsh1 or gsh2 encoding the enzymes of glutathione biosynthesis are among the best-characterised transgenic plants. However, this characterisation originates exclusively from laboratory studies, and the performance of these mutants under field conditions is largely unknown. Here, we report a field experiment in which the wild-type poplar hybrid Populus tremula x P. alba and a transgenic line overexpressing the bacterial gene gsh1 encoding gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase in the cytosol were grown for 3 years at a relatively clean (control) field site and a field site contaminated with heavy metals. Aboveground biomass accumulation was slightly smaller in transgenic compared to wild-type plants; soil contamination significantly decreased biomass accumulation in both wild-type and transgenic plants by more than 40%. Chloroplasts parameters, i.e., maximal diameter, projection area and perimeter, surface area and volume, surface/volume ratio and a two-dimensional form coefficient, were found to depend on plant type, leaf tissue and soil contamination. The greatest differences between wild and transgenic poplars were observed at the control site. Under these conditions, chloroplast sizes in palisade tissue of transgenic poplar significantly exceeded those of the wild type. In contrast to the wild type, palisade chloroplast volume exceeded that of spongy chloroplasts in transgenic poplars at both field sites. Chlorophyll content per chloroplast was the same in wild and transgenic poplars. Apparently, the increase in chloroplast volume was not connected to changes in the photosynthetic centres. Chloroplasts of transgenic poplar at the control site were more elongated in palisade cells and close to spherical in spongy mesophyll chloroplasts. At the contaminated site, palisade and spongy cell chloroplasts of leaves from transgenic trees and the wild type were the same shape. Transgenic poplars also had a smaller chloroplast

Analyzing the impact of climate and management factors on the productivity and soil carbon sequestration of poplar plantations.

PubMed

Wang, Dan; Fan, Jiazhi; Jing, Panpan; Cheng, Yong; Ruan, Honghua

2016-01-01

It is crucial to investigate how climate and management factors impact poplar plantation production and soil carbon sequestration interactively. We extracted above-ground net primary production (ANPP), climate and management factors from peer-reviewed journal articles and analyzed impact of management factor and climate on the mean annual increment (MAI) of poplar ANPP statistically. Previously validated mechanistic model (ED) is used to perform case simulations for managed poplar plantations under different harvesting rotations. The meta-analysis indicate that the dry matter MAI was 6.3 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1) (n=641, sd=4.9) globally, and 5.1 (n=292, sd=4.0), 8.1 (n=224, sd=4.7) and 4.4 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1) (n=125, sd=3.2) in Europe, the US and China, respectively. Poplar MAI showed a significant response to GDD, precipitation and planting density and formed a quadratic relationship with stand age. The low annual production for poplar globally was probably caused by suboptimal water availability, rotation length and planting density. SEM attributes the variance of poplar growth rate more to climate than to management effects. Case simulations indicated that longer rotation cycle significantly increased soil carbon storage. Findings of this work suggests that management factor of rotation cycle alone could have dramatic impact on the above ground growth, as well as on the soil carbon sequestration of poplar plantations and will be helpful to quantify the long-term carbon sequestration through short rotation plantation. The findings of this study are useful in guiding further research, policy and management decisions towards sustainable poplar plantations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Upgrading Yellow-Poplar Seeds

Treesearch

F. T. Bonner; G. L. Switzer

1971-01-01

Yellow-poplar seed lots can be upgraded considerably by dewinging in a debearder and then cleaning and separating the seeds into four specific-gravity fractions with a fractionating aspirator or a gravity separator. By this process, lots with an original soundness of 6 to 10 percent were upgraded to between 60 and 65 percent full seeds.

Symmetry and topology code of the cluster self-assembly of framework MT structures of alumophosphates AlPO4(H2O)2 (metavariscite and variscite) and Al2(PO4)2(H2O)3 (APC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilyushin, G. D.; Blatov, V. A.

2017-03-01

The supramolecular chemistry of alumophosphates, which form framework 3D MT structures from polyhedral AlO4(H2O)2 clusters with octahedral O coordination (of M polyhedra) and PO4 and AlO4 with tetrahedral O coordination (of T polyhedra), is considered. A combinatorial-topological modeling of the formation of possible types of linear (six types) and ring (two types) tetrapolyhedral cluster precursors M2T2 from MT monomers is carried out. Different versions of chain formation from linked (MT)2 rings (six types) are considered. The model, which has a universal character, has been used to simulate the cluster selfassembly of the crystal structure of AlPO4(H2O)2 minerals (metavariscite, m-VAR, and variscite, VAR) and zeolite [Al2(PO4)2(H2O)2] · H2O (APC). A tetrapolyhedral linear precursor is established for m-VAR and a ring precursor (MT)2 is established for VAR and APC. The symmetry and topology code of the processes of crystal structure self-assembly from cluster precursors is completely reconstructed. The functional role of the O-H···O hydrogen bonds is considered for the first time. The cluster self-assembly model explains the specific features of the morphogenesis of single crystals: m-VAR prisms, flattened VAR octahedra, and needleshaped APC square-base prisms.

1-(2-Hy-droxy-eth-yl)-3-[(2-hy-droxy-eth-yl)amino]-4-(1H-indol-3-yl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione.

PubMed

Xie, Zhi-Xiong; Zhao, Sheng-Yin

2011-04-01

There are four molecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(16)H(17)N(3)O(4), in which the dihedral angles between the indole ring system and maleimide ring are 4.5 (3), 8.3 (3), 8.4 (2) and 10.4 (2)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by numerous N-H⋯O and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating a three-dimensional network.

Climatic response of annual tree-rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ageev, Boris G.; Gruzdev, Aleksandr N.; Ponomarev, Yurii N.; Sapozhnikova, Valeria A.

2014-11-01

Extensive literature devoted to investigations into the influence of environmental conditions on the plant respiration and respiration rate. It is generally accepted that the respired CO2 generated in a stem completely diffuses into the atmosphere. Results obtained from explorations into the CO2 content in disc tree rings by the method proposed in this work shows that a major part of CO2 remains in tree stems and exhibits inter-annual variability. Different methods are used to describe of CO2 and H2O distributions in disc tree rings. The relation of CO2 and H2O variations in a Siberian stone pine disc to meteorological parameters are analyzed with use of wavelet, spectral and cross-spectral techniques. According to a multiple linear regression model, the time evolution of the width of Siberian stone pine rings can be partly explained by a combined influence of air temperature, precipitation, cloudiness and solar activity. Conclusions are made regarding the response of the CO2 and H2O content in coniferous tree disc rings to various climatic factors. Suggested method of CO2, (CO2+H2O) detection can be used for studying of a stem respiration in ecological risk areas.

Coherent π-electron dynamics of (P)-2,2'-biphenol induced by ultrashort linearly polarized UV pulses: angular momentum and ring current.

PubMed

Mineo, H; Lin, S H; Fujimura, Y

2013-02-21

The results of a theoretical investigation of coherent π-electron dynamics for nonplanar (P)-2,2'-biphenol induced by ultrashort linearly polarized UV pulses are presented. Expressions for the time-dependent coherent angular momentum and ring current are derived by using the density matrix method. The time dependence of these coherences is determined by the off-diagonal density matrix element, which can be obtained by solving the coupled equations of motion of the electronic-state density matrix. Dephasing effects on coherent angular momentum and ring current are taken into account within the Markov approximation. The magnitudes of the electronic angular momentum and current are expressed as the sum of expectation values of the corresponding operators in the two phenol rings (L and R rings). Here, L (R) denotes the phenol ring in the left (right)-hand side of (P)-2,2'-biphenol. We define the bond current between the nearest neighbor carbon atoms Ci and Cj as an electric current through a half plane perpendicular to the Ci-Cj bond. The bond current can be expressed in terms of the inter-atomic bond current. The inter-atomic bond current (bond current) depends on the position of the half plane on the bond and has the maximum value at the center. The coherent ring current in each ring is defined by averaging over the bond currents. Since (P)-2,2'-biphenol is nonplanar, the resultant angular momentum is not one-dimensional. Simulations of the time-dependent coherent angular momentum and ring current of (P)-2,2'-biphenol excited by ultrashort linearly polarized UV pulses are carried out using the molecular parameters obtained by the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) method. Oscillatory behaviors in the time-dependent angular momentum (ring current), which can be called angular momentum (ring current) quantum beats, are classified by the symmetry of the coherent state, symmetric or antisymmetric. The bond current of the bridge bond linking the L and R

Functional Characterization of the Poplar R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor PtoMYB216 Involved in the Regulation of Lignin Biosynthesis during Wood Formation

PubMed Central

Lu, Wanxiang; Yang, Li; Jiang, Yuanzhong; Luo, Keming

2013-01-01

Because of the importance of wood in many industrial applications, tremendous studies have been performed on wood formation, especially in lignin biosynthesis. MYB transcription factors (TFs), which consist of a large family of plant TFs, have been reported to directly regulate lignin biosynthetic genes in a number of plants. In this study, we describe the cloning and functional characterization of PtoMYB216, a cDNA isolated from Chinese white poplar (Populus tomentosa Carr.). PtoMYB216 encodes a protein belonging to the R2R3-MYB family and displays significant similarity with other MYB factors shown to regulate lignin synthesis in Arabidopsis. Gene expression profiling studies showed that PtoMYB216 mRNA is specifically expressed during secondary wall formation in wood. The 1.8-kb promoter sequence of PtoMYB216 was fused to the GUS coding sequence and introduced into wild-type A. thaliana. GUS expression was shown to be restricted to tissues undergoing secondary cell wall formation. Overexpression of PtoMYB216 specifically activated the expression of the upstream genes in the lignin biosynthetic pathway and resulted in ectopic deposition of lignin in cells that are normally unligninified. These results suggest that PtoMYB216 is specific transcriptional activators of lignin biosynthesis and involved in the regulation of wood formation in poplar. PMID:24204619

Delimbing hybrid poplar prior to processing with a flail/chipper

Treesearch

Bruce Hartsough; Raffaele Spinelli; Steve Pottle

2000-01-01

We compared the performance of a flail/chipper for processing a) whole poplar trees and b) poplar trees that had been roughly delimbed with a pull-through delimber. Production rate was about 10% higher for the delimbed trees. The reduced cost of flail/chipping would not cover the additional cost of delimbing with the machine mix tested, but changes to equipment might...

The Broken Ring: Reduced Aromaticity in Lys-Trp Cations and High pH Tautomer Correlates with Lower Quantum Yield and Shorter Lifetimes

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Several nonradiative processes compete with tryptophan fluorescence emission. The difficulty in spectral interpretation lies in associating specific molecular environmental features with these processes and thereby utilizing the fluorescence spectral data to identify the local environment of tryptophan. Here, spectroscopic and molecular modeling study of Lys-Trp dipeptide charged species shows that backbone-ring interactions are undistinguished. Instead, quantum mechanical ground state isosurfaces reveal variations in indole π electron distribution and density that parallel charge (as a function of pK1, pK2, and pKR) on the backbone and residues. A pattern of aromaticity-associated quantum yield and fluorescence lifetime changes emerges. Where quantum yield is high, isosurfaces have a charge distribution similar to the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of indole, which is the dominant fluorescent ground state of the 1La transition dipole moment. Where quantum yield is low, isosurface charge distribution over the ring is uneven, diminished, and even found off ring. At pH 13, the indole amine is deprotonated, and Lys-Trp quantum yield is extremely low due to tautomer structure that concentrates charge on the indole amine; the isosurface charge distribution bears scant resemblance to the indole HOMO. Such greatly diminished fluorescence has been observed for proteins where the indole nitrogen is hydrogen bonded, lending credence to the association of aromaticity changes with diminished quantum yield in proteins as well. Thus tryptophan ground state isosurfaces are an indicator of indole aromaticity, signaling the partition of excitation energy between radiative and nonradiative processes. PMID:24882092

A simple hydrogen-bonded chain in (3Z)-3-{1-[(5-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)amino]ethylidene}-4,5-dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one, and a hydrogen-bonded ribbon of centrosymmetric rings in the self-assembled adduct (3Z)-3-{1-[(5-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)amino]ethylidene}-4,5-dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one-6-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2,5-dimethylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7(4H)-one (1/1).

PubMed

Quiroga, Jairo; Portilla, Jaime; Cobo, Justo; Glidewell, Christopher

2010-01-01

(3Z)-3-{1-[(5-Phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)amino]ethylidene}-4,5-dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one, C(15)H(15)N(3)O(2), (I), and the stoichiometric adduct (3Z)-3-{1-[(5-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)amino]ethylidene}-4,5-dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one-6-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2,5-dimethylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7(4H)-one (1/1), C(10)H(13)N(3)O(2).C(10)H(13)N(3)O(2), (II), in which the two components have the same composition but different constitutions, are formed in the reactions of 2-acetyl-4-butyrolactone with 5-amino-3-phenyl-1H-pyrazole and 5-amino-3-methyl-1H-pyrazole, respectively. In each compound, the furanone component contains an intramolecular N-H...O hydrogen bond. The molecules of (I) are linked into a chain by a single intermolecular N-H...O hydrogen bond, while in (II), a combination of one O-H...N hydrogen bond, within the selected asymmetric unit, and two N-H...O hydrogen bonds link the molecular components into a ribbon containing alternating centrosymmetric R(4)(4)(20) and R(6)(6)(22) rings.

Ternary recombination of H3+, H2D+, HD2+, and D3+ with electrons in He/Ar/H2/D2 gas mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalosi, Abel; Dohnal, Petr; Plasil, Radek; Johnsen, Rainer; Glosik, Juraj

2016-09-01

The temperature dependence of the ternary recombination rate coefficients of H2D+ and HD2+ ions has been studied in the temperature range of 80-150 K at pressures from 500 to 1700 Pa in a stationary afterglow apparatus equipped with a cavity ring-down spectrometer. Neutral gas mixtures consisting of He/Ar/H2/D2 (with typical number densities 1017 /1014 /1014 /1014 cm-3) were employed to produce the desired ionic species and their fractional abundances were monitored as a function of helium pressure and the [D2]/[H2] ratio of the neutral gas. In addition, the translational and the rotational temperature and the ortho to para ratio were monitored for both H2D+ and HD2+ ions. A fairly strong pressure dependence of the effective recombination rate coefficient was observed for both ion species, leading to ternary recombination rate coefficients close to those previously found for (helium assisted) ternary recombination of H3+ and D3+. Work supported by: Czech Science Foundation projects GACR 14-14649P, GACR 15-15077S, GACR P209/12/0233, and by Charles University in Prague Project Nr. GAUK 692214.

Biodegradation of Trichloroethylene by an Endophyte of Hybrid Poplar

PubMed Central

Kang, Jun Won; Khan, Zareen

2012-01-01

We isolated and characterized a novel endophyte from hybrid poplar. This unique endophyte, identified as Enterobacter sp. strain PDN3, showed high tolerance to trichloroethylene (TCE). Without the addition of inducers, such as toluene or phenol, PDN3 rapidly reduced TCE levels in medium from 72.4 μM to 30.1 μM in 24 h with a concurrent release of 127 μM chloride ion, and nearly 80% of TCE (55.3 μM) was dechlorinated by PDN3 in 5 days with 166 μM chloride ion production, suggesting TCE degradation. PMID:22367087

Crop-tree release increases growth of 12-year-old yellow-poplar and black cherry

Treesearch

Neil I. Lamson; H. Clay Smith; H. Clay Smith

1989-01-01

Precommercial thinning was done in a 12-year-old Appalachian hardwood sapling stand in West Virginia. Two crop-tree release techniques were used--crown touching and crown touching plus 5 feet. Results indicated that both treatments significantly increased 5-year d.b.h. growth for released yellow-poplar and black cherry crop trees. Although there was a major increase in...

The 1995 Saturn Ring-Plane Crossings: Ring Thickness and Small Inner Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poulet, F.; Sicardy, B.

1996-09-01

The May 22() th and August 10() th, 1995, Saturn ring-plane crossings by the Earth were observed from the 2-m and 1-m telescopes at Pic du Midi, the 2.2-m telescope of the University of Hawaii, and with the Adonis adaptive optics camera at the 3.6-m telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Observations were made with either a 0.9 mu m or 2.2 mu m (short K) methane band filter. The radial brightness profiles of the rings indicate that the outer F ring dominates the apparent edge-on thickness of the system, with a vertically integrated equivalent width of 0.8-1.0 km near a radius of 130,000 km. The photometric behaviors of the A, B, and C rings and of the Cassini Division have been analyzed using a classical radiative transfer code which includes illumination by the Sun and by the planet. The F ring is modelled as a physically thick ribbon (thickness h) composed of large particles embedded in dust. The observed profiles can be explained if the F ring is both optically thick (tau ~ 0.15-0.25), and physically thick (h at least ~ 1.5 km). The large particles dominate the F ring's photometric behavior in backscattered light. Constraints on the particle properties in the other rings have been derived. The dimming of the rings around August 10, 1995 provided ideal conditions to study the small inner satellites. Besides Janus, Epimetheus and Pandora, two unresolved objects were detected in the ESO frames. They have been identified with the objects 1995S5 and 1995S6, detected several hours later by the Hubble Space Telescope (Nicholson et al. 1996, Science 272, 509--515). Combining the ESO and HST data, we derive orbital and photometric parameters for these objects. In particular, we improve the orbital parameters of 1995S5, whose orbital radius is now close to that of the F ring.

Tree and stand water fluxes of hybrid poplar clone (Populus nigra x P. maximowiczii) in short rotation coppice culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, M.; Trnka, M.; Kucera, J.; Zalud, Z.

2010-09-01

This study reports on evapotranspiration and tree water use in short rotation coppice culture of hybrid poplar (Populus nigra x P. maximowiczii) for biomass energy in the Czech Republic. The high density poplar plantation (10 000 trees per ha) was established in 2003 on arable land in Czech-Moravian Highland (49°32´ N, 16°15´ E, 530 m a.s.l.) and has been coppiced in rotation period of 7 years. Firstly, evapotranspiration of the stand has been estimated by applying the Bowen ratio-energy budget method, which is considered as reliable, robust, quite simple and inexpensive technique with comparable results to eddy covariance and lysimeters. The gaps in evapotranspiration diurnal patterns caused by limitation of the bowen ratio method were filled with simple linear regression model based on relation between potential and actual evapotranspiration with regard to soil water availability and leaf area index and thus the daily, monthly and seasonal totals could be calculated. The amount of evapotranspiration during the growing season 2009 (1 March - 31 October) was 593 mm with highest monthly total 116 mm in June. Mean daily water loss over the season reached 2.43 mm per day. During the hot summer day, the maximal value 5.73 mm per day, which presented 89 % of potential evapotranspiration calculated by Penman equation, was recorded with a peak rate 0.94 mm per hour. Secondly, the transpiration was measured by sap flow tissue heat balance techniques on four individual trees with greatest stem diameters (11 - 12 cm d.b.h.) and height of 12 - 12.5 m. Relatively high transpiration values by the poplars were found during the measured part of growing season (18 June - 31 October), with maximum and mean daily transpiration of 44.41 dm3 and 16.69 dm3 per day, respectively. The seasonal transpiration of the most vigorous from the investigated individuals amounted 2542 dm3. Because in this study we didńt evaluate the transpiration of thinner trees (technical features of sap

Comparative analysis and assessment of M. tuberculosis H37Rv protein-protein interaction datasets

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background M. tuberculosis is a formidable bacterial pathogen. There is thus an increasing demand on understanding the function and relationship of proteins in various strains of M. tuberculosis. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) data are crucial for this kind of knowledge. However, the quality of the main available M. tuberculosis PPI datasets is unclear. This hampers the effectiveness of research works that rely on these PPI datasets. Here, we analyze the two main available M. tuberculosis H37Rv PPI datasets. The first dataset is the high-throughput B2H PPI dataset from Wang et al’s recent paper in Journal of Proteome Research. The second dataset is from STRING database, version 8.3, comprising entirely of H37Rv PPIs predicted using various methods. We find that these two datasets have a surprisingly low level of agreement. We postulate the following causes for this low level of agreement: (i) the H37Rv B2H PPI dataset is of low quality; (ii) the H37Rv STRING PPI dataset is of low quality; and/or (iii) the H37Rv STRING PPIs are predictions of other forms of functional associations rather than direct physical interactions. Results To test the quality of these two datasets, we evaluate them based on correlated gene expression profiles, coherent informative GO term annotations, and conservation in other organisms. We observe a significantly greater portion of PPIs in the H37Rv STRING PPI dataset (with score ≥ 770) having correlated gene expression profiles and coherent informative GO term annotations in both interaction partners than that in the H37Rv B2H PPI dataset. Predicted H37Rv interologs derived from non-M. tuberculosis experimental PPIs are much more similar to the H37Rv STRING functional associations dataset (with score ≥ 770) than the H37Rv B2H PPI dataset. H37Rv predicted physical interologs from IntAct also show extremely low similarity with the H37Rv B2H PPI dataset; and this similarity level is much lower than that between the S. aureus MRSA252

Bud-grafting yellow-poplar

Treesearch

David T. Funk

1963-01-01

Several years ago we began work on the vegetative propagation of yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) with the aim of eventually establishing a clonal seed orchard. We tried field grafting, field budding, and air layering. We then attempted rooting cuttings in the greenhouse and in an indoor propagation bench. The best we could do with any of these methods was 4...

Two misfolding routes for the prion protein around pH 4.5.

PubMed

Garrec, Julian; Tavernelli, Ivano; Rothlisberger, Ursula

2013-01-01

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the prion protein (PrP) exhibits a dual behavior, with two possible transition routes, upon protonation of H187 around pH 4.5, which mimics specific conditions encountered in endosomes. Our results suggest a picture in which the protonated imidazole ring of H187 experiences an electrostatic repulsion with the nearby guanidinium group of R136, to which the system responds by pushing either H187 or R136 sidechains away from their native cavities. The regions to which H187 and R136 are linked, namely the C-terminal part of H2 and the loop connecting S1 to H1, respectively, are affected in a different manner depending on which pathway is taken. Specific in vivo or in vitro conditions, such as the presence of molecular chaperones or a particular experimental setup, may favor one transition pathway over the other, which can result in very different [Formula: see text] monomers. This has some possible connections with the observation of various fibril morphologies and the outcome of prion strains. In addition, the finding that the interaction of H187 with R136 is a weak point in mammalian PrP is supported by the absence of the [Formula: see text] residue pair in non-mammalian species that are known to be resistant to prion diseases.

Two Misfolding Routes for the Prion Protein around pH 4.5

PubMed Central

Garrec, Julian; Tavernelli, Ivano; Rothlisberger, Ursula

2013-01-01

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the prion protein (PrP) exhibits a dual behavior, with two possible transition routes, upon protonation of H187 around pH 4.5, which mimics specific conditions encountered in endosomes. Our results suggest a picture in which the protonated imidazole ring of H187 experiences an electrostatic repulsion with the nearby guanidinium group of R136, to which the system responds by pushing either H187 or R136 sidechains away from their native cavities. The regions to which H187 and R136 are linked, namely the C-terminal part of H2 and the loop connecting S1 to H1, respectively, are affected in a different manner depending on which pathway is taken. Specific in vivo or in vitro conditions, such as the presence of molecular chaperones or a particular experimental setup, may favor one transition pathway over the other, which can result in very different monomers. This has some possible connections with the observation of various fibril morphologies and the outcome of prion strains. In addition, the finding that the interaction of H187 with R136 is a weak point in mammalian PrP is supported by the absence of the residue pair in non-mammalian species that are known to be resistant to prion diseases. PMID:23696721

Convergent solid-phase and solution approaches in the synthesis of the cysteine-rich Mdm2 RING finger domain.

PubMed

Vasileiou, Zoe; Barlos, Kostas; Gatos, Dimitrios

2009-12-01

The RING finger domain of the Mdm2, located at the C-terminus of the protein, is necessary for regulation of p53, a tumor suppressor protein. The 48-residues long Mdm2 peptide is an important target for studying its interaction with small anticancer drug candidates. For the chemical synthesis of the Mdm2 RING finger domain, the fragment condensation on solid-phase and the fragment condensation in solution were studied. The latter method was performed using either protected or free peptides at the C-terminus as the amino component. Best results were achieved using solution condensation where the N-component was applied with the C-terminal carboxyl group left unprotected. The developed method is well suited for large-scale synthesis of Mdm2 RING finger domain, combining the advantages of both solid-phase and solution synthesis. (c) 2009 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Electronic distributions within protein phenylalanine aromatic rings are reflected by the three-dimensional oxygen atom environments.

PubMed Central

Thomas, K A; Smith, G M; Thomas, T B; Feldmann, R J

1982-01-01

The atomic environments of 170 phenylalanine-residue aromatic rings from 28 protein crystal structures are transformed into a common orientation and combined to calculate an average three-dimensional environment. The spatial distribution of atom types in this environment reveals a preferred interaction between oxygen atoms and the edge of the planar aromatic rings. From the difference in frequency of interaction of oxygen atoms with the edge and the top of the ring, an apparent net free energy difference of interaction favoring the edge of the ring is estimated to be about -1 kcal/mol (1 cal = 4.184 J). Ab initio quantum mechanical calculations, performed on a model consisting of benzene and formamide, indicate that the observed geometry is stabilized by a favorable enthalpic interaction. Although benzene rings are considered to be nonpolar, the electron distribution is a complex multipole with no net dipole moment. The observed interaction orientation frequencies demonstrate that these multipolar electron distributions, when occurring at the short distances encountered in densely packed protein molecules, are significant determinants of internal packing geometries. PMID:6956896

Factor H-related proteins.

PubMed

Józsi, Mihály; Meri, Seppo

2014-01-01

Factor H-related proteins (CFHRs) are plasma glycoproteins related in structure and antigenicity to each other and to the complement inhibitory protein factor H. Such proteins are found in most mammals but their number and domain composition vary. This chapter summarizes our current knowledge on the human factor H-related proteins. In contrast to factor H, they have no strong complement inhibitory activity, although for some of them regulatory or complement modulatory activity has been reported. A common feature of CFHRs is that they bind to the C3b component of complement. Novel links between CFHRs and various diseases (C3 glomerulopathies, atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome and age-related macular degeneration) have been revealed in recent years, but we are still far from understanding their biological function.

Whole body protein metabolism in children with cancer.

PubMed Central

Daley, S E; Pearson, A D; Craft, A W; Kernahan, J; Wyllie, R A; Price, L; Brock, C; Hetherington, C; Halliday, D; Bartlett, K

1996-01-01

Whole body protein synthesis and catabolism were measured using the [ring-2H5]phenylalanine and [1-13C]leucine primed constant infusion technique in 32 paediatric patients with cancer at different stages of treatment. Rates of synthesis (S) and catabolism (C) derived from the [ring-2H5]phenylalanine and [1-13C]leucine models were 4.7 (SD 1.3) (S) and 6.0 (1.5) (C) g/d/kg, and 5.5 (0.8) (S) and 6.8 (1.2) (C) g/d/kg, respectively. These results show that these two tracer techniques give similar results in this study population. Comparison of these values with results previously reported for groups of control children using the [ring-2H5]phenylalanine model (S = 3.69 and 3.93; C = 4.09 and 4.28 g/d/kg) and the [1-13C]leucine model (S = 4.32; C = 4.85 g/d/kg) show that rates of synthesis and catabolism were higher in cancer patients than in controls. Thus whole body protein turnover is increased in children under treatment for cancer. Other indices of metabolism such as plasma amino acids and intermediary metabolites were also measured and showed that, although subjects were in isotopic steady state, there were significant metabolic changes during the course of the primed constant infusions used to measure protein turnover. PMID:8984910

STATUS REPORT FOR AGING STUDIES OF EPDM O-RING MATERIAL FOR THE H1616 SHIPPING PACKAGE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stefek, T.; Daugherty, W.; Skidmore, E.

This is an interim status report for tasks carried out per Task Technical Plan SRNL-STI-2011-00506. A series of tasks/experiments are being performed at the Savannah River National Laboratory to monitor the aging performance of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) Orings used in the H1616 shipping package. The data will support the technical basis to extend the annual maintenance of the EPDM O-rings in the H1616 shipping package and to predict the life of the seals at bounding service conditions. Current expectations are that the O-rings will maintain a seal at bounding normal temperatures in service (152 F) for at leastmore » 12 months. The baseline aging data review suggests that the EPDM O-rings are likely to retain significant mechanical properties and sealing force at bounding service temperatures to provide a service life of at least 2 years. At lower, more realistic temperatures, longer service life is likely. Parallel compression stress relaxation and vessel leak test efforts are in progress to further validate this assessment and quantify a more realistic service life prediction. The H1616 shipping package O-rings were evaluated for baseline property data as part of this test program. This was done to provide a basis for comparison of changes in material properties and performance parameters as a function of aging. This initial characterization was limited to physical and mechanical properties, namely hardness, thickness and tensile strength. These properties appear to be consistent with O-ring specifications. Three H1616-1 Containment Vessels were placed in test conditions and are aging at temperatures ranging from 160 to 300 F. The vessels were Helium leak-tested initially and have been tested at periodic intervals after cooling to room temperature to determine if they meet the criterion of leaktightness defined in ANSI standard N14.5-97 (< 1E-07 std cc air/sec at room temperature). To date, no leak test failures have occurred. The cumulative time

Interaction between isoprene and ozone fluxes in a poplar plantation and its impact on air quality at the European level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zenone, Terenzio; Hendriks, Carlijn; Brilli, Federico; Fransen, Erik; Gioli, Beniamio; Portillo-Estrada, Miguel; Schaap, Martijn; Ceulemans, Reinhart

2016-09-01

The emission of isoprene and other biogenic volatile organic compounds from vegetation plays an important role in tropospheric ozone (O3) formation. The potentially large expansion of isoprene emitting species (e.g., poplars) for bioenergy production might, therefore, impact tropospheric O3 formation. Using the eddy covariance technique we have simultaneously measured fluxes isoprene, O3 and of CO2 from a poplar (Populus) plantation grown for bioenergy production. We used the chemistry transport model LOTOS-EUROS to scale-up the isoprene emissions associated with the existing poplar plantations in Europe, and we assessed the impact of isoprene fluxes on ground level O3 concentrations. Our findings suggest that isoprene emissions from existing poplar-for-bioenergy plantations do not significantly affect the ground level of O3 concentration. Indeed the overall land in Europe covered with poplar plantations has not significantly changed over the last two decades despite policy incentives to produce bioenergy crops. The current surface area of isoprene emitting poplars-for-bioenergy remains too limited to significantly enhance O3 concentrations and thus to be considered a potential threat for air quality and human health.

Interaction between isoprene and ozone fluxes in a poplar plantation and its impact on air quality at the European level.

PubMed

Zenone, Terenzio; Hendriks, Carlijn; Brilli, Federico; Fransen, Erik; Gioli, Beniamio; Portillo-Estrada, Miguel; Schaap, Martijn; Ceulemans, Reinhart

2016-09-12

The emission of isoprene and other biogenic volatile organic compounds from vegetation plays an important role in tropospheric ozone (O3) formation. The potentially large expansion of isoprene emitting species (e.g., poplars) for bioenergy production might, therefore, impact tropospheric O3 formation. Using the eddy covariance technique we have simultaneously measured fluxes isoprene, O3 and of CO2 from a poplar (Populus) plantation grown for bioenergy production. We used the chemistry transport model LOTOS-EUROS to scale-up the isoprene emissions associated with the existing poplar plantations in Europe, and we assessed the impact of isoprene fluxes on ground level O3 concentrations. Our findings suggest that isoprene emissions from existing poplar-for-bioenergy plantations do not significantly affect the ground level of O3 concentration. Indeed the overall land in Europe covered with poplar plantations has not significantly changed over the last two decades despite policy incentives to produce bioenergy crops. The current surface area of isoprene emitting poplars-for-bioenergy remains too limited to significantly enhance O3 concentrations and thus to be considered a potential threat for air quality and human health.

Poplar response to cadmium and lead soil contamination.

PubMed

Radojčić Redovniković, Ivana; De Marco, Alessandra; Proietti, Chiara; Hanousek, Karla; Sedak, Marija; Bilandžić, Nina; Jakovljević, Tamara

2017-10-01

An outdoor pot experiment was designed to study the potential of poplar (Populus nigra 'Italica') in phytoremediation of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). Poplar was treated with a combination of different concentrations of Cd (w = 10, 25, 50mgkg -1 soil) and Pb (400, 800, 1200mgkg -1 soil) and several physiological and biochemical parameters were monitored including the accumulation and distribution of metals in different plant parts (leaf, stem, root). Simultaneously, the changes in the antioxidant system in roots and leaves were monitored to be able to follow synergistic effects of both heavy metals. Moreover, a statistical analysis based on the Random Forests Analysis (RFA) was performed in order to determine the most important predictors affecting growth and antioxidative machinery activities of poplar under heavy metal stress. The study demonstrated that tested poplar could be a good candidate for phytoextraction processes of Cd in moderately contaminated soils, while in heavily contaminated soil it could be only considered as a phytostabilisator. For Pb remediation only phytostabilisation process could be considered. By using RFA we pointed out that it is important to conduct the experiments in an outdoor space and include environmental conditions in order to study more realistic changes of growth parameters and accumulation and distribution of heavy metals. Also, to be able to better understand the interactions among previously mentioned parameters, it is important to conduct the experiments during prolonged time exposure., This is especially important for the long life cycle woody species. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Impacts of transgenic poplar-cotton agro-ecosystems upon target pests and non-target insects under field conditions.

PubMed

Zhang, D J; Liu, J X; Lu, Z Y; Li, C L; Comada, E; Yang, M S

2015-07-27

Poplar-cotton agro-ecosystems are the main agricultural planting modes of cotton fields in China. With increasing acres devoted to transgenic insect-resistant poplar and transgenic insect-resistant cotton, studies examining the effects of transgenic plants on target and non-target insects become increasingly important. We systematically surveyed populations of both target pests and non-target insects for 4 different combinations of poplar-cotton eco-systems over 3 years. Transgenic Bt cotton strongly resisted the target insects Fall webworm moth [Hyphantria cunea (Drury)], Sylepta derogata Fabrieius, and American bollworm (Heliothis armigera), but no clear impact on non-target insect cotton aphids (Aphis gossypii). Importantly, intercrops containing transgenic Pb29 poplar significantly increased the inhibitory effects of Bt cotton on Fall webworm moth in ecosystem IV. Highly resistant Pb29 poplar reduced populations of the target pests Grnsonoma minutara Hubner and non-target insect poplar leaf aphid (Chaitophorus po-pulialbae), while Fall webworm moth populations were unaffected. We determined the effects of Bt toxin from transgenic poplar and cotton on target and non-target pests in different ecosystems of cotton-poplar intercrops and identified the synergistic effects of such combinations toward both target and non-target insects.

Protein Neddylation: Beyond Cullin-RING Ligases

PubMed Central

Enchev, Radoslav I.; Schulman, Brenda A.; Peter, Matthias

2016-01-01

NEDD8 is a ubiquitin-like protein that activates the largest ubiquitin E3 ligase family, the cullin RING ligases. Many non-cullin neddylation targets have been proposed in recent years. However, overexpression of exogenous NEDD8 can trigger NEDD8 conjugation through the ubiquitylation machinery, which makes validating potential NEDD8 targets challenging. Here we re-evaluate these studies in light of the current understanding of the neddylation pathway, and suggest criteria for the identification of genuine neddylation substrates under homeostatic conditions. We describe the biological processes that might be regulated by non-cullin neddylation, and the utility of neddylation inhibitors for research and as potential therapies. Understanding the biological significance of non-cullin neddylation is an exciting research prospect primed to reveal fundamental insights. PMID:25531226

Major Chromosomal Rearrangements Distinguish Willow and Poplar After the Ancestral “Salicoid” Genome Duplication

PubMed Central

Hou, Jing; Ye, Ning; Dong, Zhongyuan; Lu, Mengzhu; Li, Laigeng; Yin, Tongming

2016-01-01

Populus (poplar) and Salix (willow) are sister genera in the Salicaceae family. In both lineages extant species are predominantly diploid. Genome analysis previously revealed that the two lineages originated from a common tetraploid ancestor. In this study, we conducted a syntenic comparison of the corresponding 19 chromosome members of the poplar and willow genomes. Our observations revealed that almost every chromosomal segment had a parallel paralogous segment elsewhere in the genomes, and the two lineages shared a similar syntenic pinwheel pattern for most of the chromosomes, which indicated that the two lineages diverged after the genome reorganization in the common progenitor. The pinwheel patterns showed distinct differences for two chromosome pairs in each lineage. Further analysis detected two major interchromosomal rearrangements that distinguished the karyotypes of willow and poplar. Chromosome I of willow was a conjunction of poplar chromosome XVI and the lower portion of poplar chromosome I, whereas willow chromosome XVI corresponded to the upper portion of poplar chromosome I. Scientists have suggested that Populus is evolutionarily more primitive than Salix. Therefore, we propose that, after the “salicoid” duplication event, fission and fusion of the ancestral chromosomes first give rise to the diploid progenitor of extant Populus species. During the evolutionary process, fission and fusion of poplar chromosomes I and XVI subsequently give rise to the progenitor of extant Salix species. This study contributes to an improved understanding of genome divergence after ancient genome duplication in closely related lineages of higher plants. PMID:27352946

A heterogeneous boron distribution in soil influences the poplar root system architecture development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rees, R.; Robinson, B. H.; Hartmann, S.; Lehmann, E.; Schulin, R.

2009-04-01

Poplars are well suited for the phytomanagement of boron (B)-contaminated sites, due to their high transpiration rate and tolerance to elevated soil B concentrations. However, the uptake and the fate of B in poplar stands are not well understood. This information is crucial to improve the design of phytomanagement systems, where the primary role of poplars is to reduce B leaching by reducing the water flux through the contaminated material. Like other trace elements, B occurs heterogeneously in soils. Concentrations can differ up to an order of magnitude within centimetres. These gradients affect plant root growth and thus via preferential flow along the roots water and mass transport in soils to ground and surface waters. Generally there are three possible reactions of plant roots to patches with elevated trace element concentrations in soils: indifference, avoidance, or foraging. While avoidance or indifference might seem to be the most obvious strategies, foraging cannot be excluded a priori, because of the high demand of poplars for B compared to other tree species. We aimed to determine the rooting strategies of poplars in soils where B is either homo- or heterogeneously distributed. We planted 5 cm cuttings of Populus tremula var. Birmensdorf clones in aluminum (Al) containers with internal dimensions of 64 x 67 x 1.2 cm. The soil used was subsoil from northern Switzerland with a naturally low B and organic C concentration. We setup two treatments and a control with three replicates each. We spiked a bigger and a smaller portion of the soil with the same amount of B(OH)3-salt, in order to obtain soil concentrations of 7.5 mg B kg-1 and 20 mg B kg-1. We filled the containers with (a) un-spiked soil, (b) the 7.5 mg B kg-1 soil and (c) heterogeneously. The heterogeneous treatment consisted of one third 20 mg B kg-1 soil and two thirds control soil. We grew the poplars in a small greenhouse over 2 months and from then on in a climate chamber for another 3 months

Methyl 2-methyl-4-(oxiran-2-ylmeth-oxy)-2H-1,2-benzothia-zine-3-carboxyl-ate 1,1-dioxide.

PubMed

Ahmad, Matloob; Siddiqui, Hamid Latif; Zia-Ur-Rehman, Muhammad; Elsegood, Mark R J; Weaver, George W

2010-01-09

In the title compound, C(14)H(15)NO(6)S, the thia-zine ring adopts a distorted half-chair conformation. The structure displays several cooperative weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-actions, giving rise to a two-dimensional sheet packing motif. The CH(2) group in the meth-oxy linker to the oxirane ring, and the CH group in that ring, exhibit twofold positional disorder. The three-membered oxirane ring is twisted approximately perpendicular with respect to thia-zine ring (dihedral angle = 60/86° for the major/minor disorder components). 1,2-Benzothia-zines of this kind have a wide range of biological activities and are mainly used as medicines in the treatment of inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis.

Elevated CO2 and/or ozone modify lignification in the wood of poplars (Populus tremula x alba)

PubMed Central

Richet, Nicolas; Afif, Dany; Tozo, Koffi; Pollet, Brigitte; Maillard, Pascale; Huber, Françoise; Priault, Pierrick; Banvoy, Jacques; Gross, Patrick; Dizengremel, Pierre; Lapierre, Catherine; Perré, Patrick; Cabané, Mireille

2012-01-01

Trees will have to cope with increasing levels of CO2 and ozone in the atmosphere. The purpose of this work was to assess whether the lignification process could be altered in the wood of poplars under elevated CO2 and/or ozone. Young poplars were exposed either to charcoal-filtered air (control), to elevated CO2 (800 μl l−1), to ozone (200 nl l−1) or to a combination of elevated CO2 and ozone in controlled chambers. Lignification was analysed at different levels: biosynthesis pathway activities (enzyme and transcript), lignin content, and capacity to incorporate new assimilates by using 13C labelling. Elevated CO2 and ozone had opposite effects on many parameters (growth, biomass, cambial activity, wood cell wall thickness) except on lignin content which was increased by elevated CO2 and/or ozone. However, this increased lignification was due to different response mechanisms. Under elevated CO2, carbon supply to the stem and effective lignin synthesis were enhanced, leading to increased lignin content, although there was a reduction in the level of some enzyme and transcript involved in the lignin pathway. Ozone treatment induced a reduction in carbon supply and effective lignin synthesis as well as transcripts from all steps of the lignin pathway and some corresponding enzyme activities. However, lignin content was increased under ozone probably due to variations in other major components of the cell wall. Both mechanisms seemed to coexist under combined treatment and resulted in a high increase in lignin content. PMID:22553285

Crystal structure of (7-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)methyl piperidine-1-carbo­di­thio­ate

PubMed Central

Roopashree, K. R.; Meenakshi, T. G.; Kumar, K. Mahesh; Kotresh, O.; Devarajegowda, H. C.

2015-01-01

In the title compound, C17H19NO2S2, the 2H-chromene ring system is nearly planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.0383 (28) Å, and the piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation. The 2H-chromene ring makes dihedral angles of 32.89 (16) and 67.33 (8)°, respectively, with the mean planes of the piperidine ring and the carbodi­thio­ate group. In the crystal, C—H⋯O and weak C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into chains along [001]. The crystal structure also features C—H⋯π and π–π inter­actions, with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.7097 (17) Å. PMID:26396821

Daytime and nighttime wind differentially affects hydraulic properties and thigmomorphogenic response of poplar saplings.

PubMed

Huang, Ping; Wan, Xianchong; Lieffers, Victor J

2016-05-01

This study tested how wind in daytime and nighttime affects hydraulic properties and thigmomorphogenic response of poplar saplings. It shows that wind in daytime interrupted water balance of poplar plants by aggravating cavitation in the stem xylem under high xylem tension in the daytime, reducing water potential in midday and hence reducing gas exchange, including stomatal conductance and CO2 assimilation. The wind blowing in daytime significantly reduced plant growth, including height, diameter, leaf size, leaf area, root and whole biomass, whereas wind blowing in nighttime only caused a reduction in radial and height growth at the early stage compared with the control but decreased height:diameter ratios. In summary, the interaction between wind loading and xylem tension exerted a negative impact on water balance, gas exchanges and growth of poplar plants, and wind in nighttime caused only a small thigmomorphogenic response. © 2015 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

Ethyl 2-{4-[(1,5-dibenzyl-2,4-dioxo-2,3,4,5-tetra-hydro-1H-1,5-benzo-diazepin-3-yl)meth-yl]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl}acetate.

PubMed

Jabli, Hind; Kandri Rodi, Y; Ladeira, Sonia; Essassi, El Mokhtar; Ng, Seik Weng

2009-12-12

The reaction of 1,5-dibenzyl-3-propargyl-1,5-benzodiazepine-2,4-dione with ethyl azido-acetate in the presence of copper sulfate pentahydrate and sodium ascorbate leads to the formation of the title regioisomer, C(30)H(29)N(5)O(4), which features a phenyl-ene ring fused with a seven-membered diazepinyl ring. The latter ring adopts a boat conformation (with the methyl-triazolylacetate-bearing C atom as the prow and the fused-ring C atoms as the stern). The benzyl groups connected to the diazepinyl ring jprotrude from the sides; the methyl-triazolylacetate substituent occupies an axial position.

Planting Depth of Hybrid Poplar Cuttings Influences Number of Shoots

Treesearch

Edward Hansen; David Tolsted; Matthew Tower

1991-01-01

Reports that planting unrooted hybrid poplar cuttings flush with the soil surface resulted in significantly fewer multiple-stem shoots compared to letting the cutting protrude 2.5 or 5.0 cm above the soil surface. There were no significant effects on shoot height growth or cutting mortality.

Genomic insights into salt adaptation in a desert poplar

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, Tao; Wang, Junyi; Zhou, Gongke

2013-01-01

Despite the high economic and ecological importance of forests, our knowledge of the genomic evolution of trees under salt stress remains very limited. Here we report the genome sequence of the desert poplar, Populus euphratica, which exhibits high tolerance to sa lt stress. Its genome is very similar and collinear to that of the closely related mesophytic congener, P trichocarpa. However, we find that several gene families likely to be involved in tolerance to salt stress contain significantly more gene copies within the P euphratica lineage. Furthermore, genes showing evidence of positive selection are significantly enriched in functional categories relatedmore » to salt stress. Some of these genes, and others within the same categories, are significantly upregulated under salt stress relative to their expression in another salt-sensitive poplar. Our results provide an important background for understanding tree adaptation to salt stress and facilitating the genetic improvement of cultivated poplars for saline soils.« less

Fertilizer and Mulch Improves Yellow-Poplar Growth on Exposed harsells Subsoils

Treesearch

John K. Francis

1977-01-01

Fertilizing and mulching of eroded Hartsells soil increased height and diameter of yellow-poplars. To see if chemical infertility of exposed Hartsells subsoils limits yellow-poplar growth and to test fertilizer and mulch as remedial agents, seedlings were planted on undisturbed soil, soil with the topsoil removed, and soil with the topsoil removed but mulched with leaf...

Expression of the hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins in normal tissues: relationship to cancer predisposition in hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer.

PubMed

Plevová, Pavlína; Sedláková, Eva; Zapletalová, Jana; Krepelová, Anna; Skýpalová, Petra; Kolár, Zdenek

2005-02-01

The majority of tumours in patients with hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) occur in large intestine and endometrium; also, other tissues are at increased risk. We studied expression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins in 148 normal samples of various tissues from non-HNPCC patients and in 14 normal colon tissues from HNPCC patients. Immunohistochemical technique was used. Intensity of nuclear staining, percentage of stained cells and H-scores were calculated. Tissues were divided into groups. Groups A, B and C included tissues with increased risk of cancer in HNPCC A) stomach, small and large bowel; (B) endometrium; (C) ovary, ureter, urinary bladder, kidney and liver. Group D tissues were without increased risk. Expression of the proteins was significantly higher in groups A, B and C compared with group D (P<0.0001, P=0.0004 for hMSH2 in C versus D). The expression was highest in testis. In colons of HNPCC patients, expression of the mutated gene product was significantly lower than in non-HNPCC patients. In conclusion, hMLH1/hMSH2 protein expression is constitutively higher in certain cell types of certain tissues, including the majority of tissues that are at increased risk of cancer in HNPCC. However, association of strong hMLH1/hMSH2 expression with cancer risk is not strictly valid.

Coherent π-electron dynamics of (P)-2,2'-biphenol induced by ultrashort linearly polarized UV pulses: Angular momentum and ring current

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mineo, H.; Lin, S. H.; Fujimura, Y.

2013-02-01

The results of a theoretical investigation of coherent π-electron dynamics for nonplanar (P)-2,2'-biphenol induced by ultrashort linearly polarized UV pulses are presented. Expressions for the time-dependent coherent angular momentum and ring current are derived by using the density matrix method. The time dependence of these coherences is determined by the off-diagonal density matrix element, which can be obtained by solving the coupled equations of motion of the electronic-state density matrix. Dephasing effects on coherent angular momentum and ring current are taken into account within the Markov approximation. The magnitudes of the electronic angular momentum and current are expressed as the sum of expectation values of the corresponding operators in the two phenol rings (L and R rings). Here, L (R) denotes the phenol ring in the left (right)-hand side of (P)-2,2'-biphenol. We define the bond current between the nearest neighbor carbon atoms Ci and Cj as an electric current through a half plane perpendicular to the Ci-Cj bond. The bond current can be expressed in terms of the inter-atomic bond current. The inter-atomic bond current (bond current) depends on the position of the half plane on the bond and has the maximum value at the center. The coherent ring current in each ring is defined by averaging over the bond currents. Since (P)-2,2'-biphenol is nonplanar, the resultant angular momentum is not one-dimensional. Simulations of the time-dependent coherent angular momentum and ring current of (P)-2,2'-biphenol excited by ultrashort linearly polarized UV pulses are carried out using the molecular parameters obtained by the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) method. Oscillatory behaviors in the time-dependent angular momentum (ring current), which can be called angular momentum (ring current) quantum beats, are classified by the symmetry of the coherent state, symmetric or antisymmetric. The bond current of the bridge bond linking the L and R

Structural model of the hUbA1-UbcH10 quaternary complex: in silico and experimental analysis of the protein-protein interactions between E1, E2 and ubiquitin.

PubMed

Correale, Stefania; de Paola, Ivan; Morgillo, Carmine Marco; Federico, Antonella; Zaccaro, Laura; Pallante, Pierlorenzo; Galeone, Aldo; Fusco, Alfredo; Pedone, Emilia; Luque, F Javier; Catalanotti, Bruno

2014-01-01

UbcH10 is a component of the Ubiquitin Conjugation Enzymes (Ubc; E2) involved in the ubiquitination cascade controlling the cell cycle progression, whereby ubiquitin, activated by E1, is transferred through E2 to the target protein with the involvement of E3 enzymes. In this work we propose the first three dimensional model of the tetrameric complex formed by the human UbA1 (E1), two ubiquitin molecules and UbcH10 (E2), leading to the transthiolation reaction. The 3D model was built up by using an experimentally guided incremental docking strategy that combined homology modeling, protein-protein docking and refinement by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The structural features of the in silico model allowed us to identify the regions that mediate the recognition between the interacting proteins, revealing the active role of the ubiquitin crosslinked to E1 in the complex formation. Finally, the role of these regions involved in the E1-E2 binding was validated by designing short peptides that specifically interfere with the binding of UbcH10, thus supporting the reliability of the proposed model and representing valuable scaffolds for the design of peptidomimetic compounds that can bind selectively to Ubcs and inhibit the ubiquitylation process in pathological disorders.

Penetration of analogues of H2O and CO2 in proteins studied by room temperature phosphorescence of tryptophan.

PubMed

Wright, W W; Owen, C S; Vanderkooi, J M

1992-07-21

The influence of the protein matrix on the reactivity of external molecules with a species buried within the protein interior is considered in two general ways: (1) there may be structural fluctuations that allow for the diffusive penetration of the small molecules and/or (2) the external molecule may react over a distance. As a means to study the protein matrix, a reactive species within the protein can be formed by exciting tryptophan to the triplet state, and then the reaction of the triplet-state molecule with an external molecule can be monitored by a decrease in phosphorescence. In this work, the quenching ability (i.e., reactivity) was examined for H2S, CS2, and NO2- acting on tryptophan phosphorescence in parvalbumin, azurin, horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase. A comparison of charged versus uncharged quenchers (H2S vs SH- and CS2 vs NO2-) reveals that the uncharged molecules are much more effective than charged species in quenching the phosphorescence of fully buried tryptophan, whereas the quenching for exposed tryptophan is relatively independent of the charge of the quencher. This is consistent with the view that uncharged triatomic molecules can penetrate the protein matrix to some extent. The energies of activation of the quenching reaction are low for the charged quenchers and higher for the uncharged CS2. A model is presented in which the quenchability of a buried tryptophan is inversely related to the distance from the surface when diffusion through the protein is the rate-limiting step.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Expression of hMSH2 protein of the human DNA mismatch repair system in oral lichen planus

PubMed Central

2004-01-01

Lichen planus is a mucocutaneous disease of inflammatory nature and unknown etiology. It is characterized by a cell-mediated immunological response to induced antigenic change in skin and/or mucosa. The possible malignant transformation of lichen planus remains a subject of controversial discussions in the literature. hMSH2 is one of the human DNA mismatch repair (hMMR) genes and it plays an important role in reducing mutation and maintaining genomic stability. hMSH2 alterations have been reported in oral squamous cell carcinoma and there are evidences suggesting the association between oral lichen planus and squamous cell carcinoma. In this study, we aim to investigate the immunolocalization of hMSH2 protein in oral lichen planus compared to oral normal mucosa epithelium. We examined the expression of hMSH2 protein by immunohistochemistry in twenty-six cases of oral lichen planus. Clinically, 12 of them were categorized into reticular subtype and 14 were atrophic/erosive. Ten cases of normal mucosa were added to the control group. Results showed that the percentage of positive cells to hMSH2 was smaller in reticular (46.54%; p=0,006) and atrophic/erosive (48.79%; p=0,028) subtypes of oral lichen planus compared to normal mucosa (61.29%). The reduced expression of hMSH2 protein in oral lichen planus suggests that this lesion is more susceptible to mutation and therefore facilitate the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma. PMID:15912193

Regulation of secondary cell wall biosynthesis by poplar R2R3 MYB transcription factor PtrMYB152 in Arabidopsis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Shucai; Li, Eryang; Porth, Ilga

2014-05-23

Poplar has 192 annotated R2R3 MYB genes, of which only three have been shown to play a role in the regulation of secondary cell wall formation. Here we report the characterization of PtrMYB152, a poplar homolog of the Arabidopsis R2R3 MYB transcription factor AtMYB43, in the regulation of secondary cell wall biosynthesis. The expression of PtrMYB152 in secondary xylem is about 18 times of that in phloem. When expressed in Arabidopsis under the control of either 35S or PtrCesA8 promoters, PtrMYB152 increased secondary cell wall thickness, which is likely caused by increased lignification. Accordingly, elevated expression of genes encoding setsmore » of enzymes in secondary wall biosynthesis were observed in transgenic plants expressing PtrMYB152. Arabidopsis protoplast transfection assays suggested that PtrMYB152 functions as a transcriptional activator. Taken together, our results suggest that PtrMYB152 may be part of a regulatory network activating expression of discrete sets of secondary cell wall biosynthesis genes.« less

High level expression, purification and characterization of active fusion human C1q and tumor necrosis factor related protein 2 (hCTRP2) in Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Li, Hongbo; Gao, Xuefei; Zhou, Yi; Li, Na; Ge, Caozuo; Hui, Xiaoyan; Wang, Yu; Xu, Aimin; Jin, Shouguang; Wu, Donghai

2011-09-01

C1q and tumor necrosis factor related proteins (CTRPs) are a family of adiponectin paralogues. Among them, CTRP2 is the only CTRP protein that has been shown to possess similar biological activities as adiponectin. To further explore the physiological roles of human CTRP2 and its mechanisms of action, hCTRP2 gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris, respectively. In the P. pastoris expression system, recombinant hCTRP2 could be secreted into the culture medium under induction condition, however, the resultant recombinant protein was highly unstable, resulting two main degradation products with molecular masses of approximately 20 and 26 kDa, respectively. In the E. coli expression system, a large amount of soluble thioredoxin (Trx)-hCTRP2 fusion protein could be produced, which accounts about 42% of the total soluble bacterial proteins. The recombinant Trx-hCTRP2 fusion protein was purified to an approximately 95% purity using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and Superdex G-75 column with a yield of about 15 mg/l protein from 1l bacterial culture. The purified recombinant Trx-hCTRP2 was shown to be active under in vitro assay conditions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Achieving Reversible H2/H+ Interconversion at Room Temperature with Enzyme-Inspired Molecular Complexes: A Mechanistic Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Priyadarshani, Nilusha; Dutta, Arnab; Ginovska-Pangovska, Bojana

Inspired by the contribution of the protein scaffold to the efficiency with which enzymes function, we report the first molecular complex that is reversible for electrocatalytic H2 production/oxidation at room temperature in methanol. [Ni(PCy2NPhe2)2]2+ (CyPhe; PR2NR’2 = 1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctane, Cy=cyclohexyl, Phe=phenylalanine), shows reversible behavior in acidic methanol with peripheral phenylalanine groups providing key contributions to the catalytic behavior. The importance of the aromatic rings is implicated in achieving reversibility, based on the lack of reversibility of similar complexes, [Ni(PCy2NAmino Acid2)2]2+, containing arginine (CyArg) or glycine (CyGly). A complex with an added OH group on the ring, (CyTyr; Tyr=Tyrosine), also shows similarmore » behavior. NMR studies reveal a significantly slower rate of chair-boat isomerization for the CyPhe relative to other derivatives, suggesting that the aromatic groups provide structural control by interacting with each other, an observation supported by molecular dynamics studies. NMR studies also show extremely fast proton movement, with a proton pathway from the Ni-H through the pendant amine to the –COOH group. Further, studies of acomplex without the –COOH group, [Ni(PCy2NTym2)2]2+ (CyTym; Tym=Tyramine), are not reversible and have slow proton movement from the pendant amine, demonstrating the essential nature of the –COOH group in achieving reversibility. Finally, methanol is demonstrated to play a critical contributing role. The influence of multiple factors on reversibility for this synthetic catalyst is a demonstration of the intricate interplay between the first, second, and outer coordination spheres and resembles the complexity observed in metalloenzymes.« less

2-[(4-Chloro­phen­yl)selan­yl]-3,4-di­hydro-2H-benzo[h]chromene-5,6-dione: crystal structure and Hirshfeld analysis

PubMed Central

Prado, Karinne E.; Name, Luccas L.; Jotani, Mukesh M.

2017-01-01

The title organoselenium compound, C19H13ClO3Se {systematic name: 2-[(4-chloro­phen­yl)selan­yl]-2H,3H,4H,5H,6H-naphtho­[1,2-b]pyran-5,6-dione}, has the substituted 2-pyranyl ring in a half-chair conformation with the methyl­ene-C atom bound to the methine-C atom being the flap atom. The dihedral angle between the two aromatic regions of the mol­ecule is 9.96 (9)° and indicates a step-like conformation. An intra­molecular Se⋯O inter­action of 2.8122 (13) Å is noted. In the crystal, π–π contacts between naphthyl rings [inter-centroid distance = 3.7213 (12) Å] and between naphthyl and chloro­benzene rings [inter-centroid distance = 3.7715 (13) Å], along with C—Cl⋯π(chloro­benzene) contacts, lead to supra­molecular layers parallel to the ab plane, which are connected into a three-dimensional architecture via methyl­ene-C—H⋯O(carbon­yl) inter­actions. The contributions of these and other weak contacts to the Hirshfeld surface is described. PMID:28638659

Yellow-Poplar: Characteristics and Management

Treesearch

Donald E. Beck; Lino Della-Bianca

1981-01-01

This reference tool and field guide for foresters and other landmanagers includes a synthesis of information on the characteristics of yellow-poplar with guidelines for managing the species. It is based on research conducted by many individuals in State and Federal forestry organizations and in universities throughout the Eastern United States. This handbook...

Effect of sterilizing treatments on survival and growth of hybrid poplar cuttings

Treesearch

Harold F. Ford

1954-01-01

Fungus diseases of poplars might be spread to new locations if hybrid poplar cuttings (now being test-planted in various parts of the northeast) were not sterilized before shipment. Among these diseases are the canker-producing fungi Septoria musiva and Dothichiza populea and the leafblotch fungus Septotinia populiperda.

WUS and STM-based reporter genes for studying meristem development in poplar

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We describe the development of a reporter system for monitoring meristem initiation in poplar using promoters of poplar homologs to the meristem-active regulatory genes WUSCHEL (WUS) and SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (STM). When ~3 kb of the 5’ flanking regions of close homologs were used to drive expression o...

Multi-state lasing in self-assembled ring-shaped green fluorescent protein microcavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dietrich, Christof P., E-mail: cpd3@st-andrews.ac.uk; Höfling, Sven; Gather, Malte C., E-mail: mcg6@st-andrews.ac.uk

2014-12-08

We demonstrate highly efficient lasing from multiple photonic states in microcavities filled with self-assembled rings of recombinant enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) in its solid state form. The lasing regime is achieved at very low excitation energies of 13 nJ and occurs from cavity modes dispersed in both energy and momentum. We attribute the momentum distribution to very efficient scattering of incident light at the surface of the eGFP rings. The distribution of lasing states in energy is induced by the large spectral width of the gain spectrum of recombinant eGFP (FWHM ≅ 25 nm)

Application of Ring-Closing Metathesis to Grb2 SH3 Domain-Binding Peptides | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

In silico-generated hypothetical interactions of a ring-closing metathesis-macrocylized peptide bound to the amino terminal SH3 domain of the growth factor receptor bound protein 2 (Grb2). The complex was derived from the NMR solution structure of the bound parent peptide, Ac-V-P-P-P-V-P-P-R-R-R-amide (Protein Data Bank: 3GBQ). The protein surface is shown as electrostatic

Prolonged Adaptation to a Low or High Protein Diet Does Not Modulate Basal Muscle Protein Synthesis Rates - A Substudy.

PubMed

Hursel, Rick; Martens, Eveline A P; Gonnissen, Hanne K J; Hamer, Henrike M; Senden, Joan M G; van Loon, Luc J C; Westerterp-Plantenga, Margriet S

2015-01-01

Based on controlled 36 h experiments a higher dietary protein intake causes a positive protein balance and a negative fat balance. A positive net protein balance may support fat free mass accrual. However, few data are available on the impact of more prolonged changes in habitual protein intake on whole-body protein metabolism and basal muscle protein synthesis rates. To assess changes in whole-body protein turnover and basal muscle protein synthesis rates following 12 weeks of adaptation to a low versus high dietary protein intake. A randomized parallel study was performed in 40 subjects who followed either a high protein (2.4 g protein/kg/d) or low protein (0.4 g protein/kg/d) energy-balanced diet (30/35/35% or 5/60/35% energy from protein/carbohydrate/fat) for a period of 12 weeks. A subgroup of 7 men and 8 women (body mass index: 22.8±2.3 kg/m2, age: 24.3±4.9 y) were selected to evaluate the impact of prolonged adaptation to either a high or low protein intake on whole body protein metabolism and basal muscle protein synthesis rates. After the diet, subjects received continuous infusions with L-[ring-2H5]phenylalanine and L-[ring-2H2]tyrosine in an overnight fasted state, with blood samples and muscle biopsies being collected to assess post-absorptive whole-body protein turnover and muscle protein synthesis rates in vivo in humans. After 12 weeks of intervention, whole-body protein balance in the fasted state was more negative in the high protein treatment when compared with the low protein treatment (-4.1±0.5 vs -2.7±0.6 μmol phenylalanine/kg/h;P<0.001). Whole-body protein breakdown (43.0±4.4 vs 37.8±3.8 μmol phenylalanine/kg/h;P<0.03), synthesis (38.9±4.2 vs 35.1±3.6 μmol phenylalanine/kg/h;P<0.01) and phenylalanine hydroxylation rates (4.1±0.6 vs 2.7±0.6 μmol phenylalanine/kg/h;P<0.001) were significantly higher in the high vs low protein group. Basal muscle protein synthesis rates were maintained on a low vs high protein diet (0.042±0.01 vs 0

ReAsH/FlAsH Labeling and Image Analysis of Tetracysteine Sensor Proteins in Cells

PubMed Central

Irtegun, Sevgi; Ramdzan, Yasmin M.; Mulhern, Terrence D.; Hatters, Danny M.

2011-01-01

Fluorescent proteins and dyes are essential tools for the study of protein trafficking, localization and function in cells. While fluorescent proteins such as green fluorescence protein (GFP) have been extensively used as fusion partners to proteins to track the properties of a protein of interest1, recent developments with smaller tags enable new functionalities of proteins to be examined in cells such as conformational change and protein-association 2, 3. One small tag system involves a tetracysteine motif (CCXXCC) genetically inserted into a target protein, which binds to biarsenical dyes, ReAsH (red fluorescent) and FlAsH (green fluorescent), with high specificity even in live cells 2. The TC/biarsenical dye system offers far less steric constraints to the host protein than fluorescent proteins which has enabled several new approaches to measure conformational change and protein-protein interactions 4-7. We recently developed a novel application of TC tags as sensors of oligomerization in cells expressing mutant huntingtin, which when mutated aggregates in neurons in Huntington disease 7. Huntingtin was tagged with two fluorescent dyes, one a fluorescent protein to track protein location, and the second a TC tag which only binds biarsenical dyes in monomers. Hence, changes in colocalization between protein and biarsenical dye reactivity enabled submicroscopic oligomer content to be spatially mapped within cells. Here, we describe how to label TC-tagged proteins fused to a fluorescent protein (Cherry, GFP or CFP) with FlAsH or ReAsH in live mammalian cells and how to quantify the two color fluorescence (Cherry/FlAsH, CFP/FlAsH or GFP/ReAsH combinations). PMID:21897361

Heat transfer mechanisms in poplar wood undergoing torrefaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sule, Idris O.; Mahmud, Shohel; Dutta, Animesh; Tasnim, Syeda Humaira

2016-03-01

Torrefaction, a thermal treatment process of biomass, has been proved to improve biomass combustible properties. Torrefaction is defined as a thermochemical process in reduced oxygen condition and at temperature range from 200 to 300 °C for shorter residence time whereby energy yield is maximized, can be a bridging technology that can lead the conventional system (e.g. coal-fired plants) towards a sustainable energy system. In efforts to develop a commercial operable torrefaction reactor, the present study examines the minimum input condition at which biomass is torrefied and explores the heat transfer mechanisms during torrefaction in poplar wood samples. The heat transfer through the wood sample is numerically modeled and analyzed. Each poplar wood is torrefied at temperature of 250, 270, and 300 °C. The experimental study shows that the 270 °C-treatment can be deduced as the optimal input condition for torrefaction of poplar wood. A good understanding of heat transfer mechanisms can facilitate the upscaling and downscaling of torrefaction process equipment to fit the feedstock input criteria and can help to develop treatment input specifications that can maximize process efficiency.

Ethyl 3-[1-(4-methoxy-phen-yl)-4-oxo-3-phenylazetidin-2-yl]-2-nitro-1-phenyl-2,3,10,10a-tetra-hydro-1H,5H-pyrrolo[1,2-b]isoquinoline-10a-carboxyl-ate.

PubMed

Sundaresan, S S; Ramesh, P; Arumugam, N; Raghunathan, R; Ponnuswamy, M N

2010-02-17

In the title mol-ecule, C(37)H(35)N(3)O(6), the pyrrolidine ring adopts a twist conformation and the piperidine ring is in a distorted boat conformation. One of the phenyl rings is disordered over two positions with occupancies of 0.54 (2) and 0.46 (2) and the ethyl carboxyl-ate group is also disordered over two orientations with occupancies of 0.75 (1) and 0.25 (1).

Molecular Analysis of Primary Vapor and Char Products during Stepwise Pyrolysis of Poplar Biomass

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Roger W.; Reinot, Tonu; McClelland, John F.

2010-08-03

Pyrolysis of biomass produces both pyrolysis oil and solid char. In this study, poplar has been pyrolyzed in a stepwise fashion over a series of temperatures from 200 to 500°C, and both the primary products contributing to pyrolysis oil and the changes in the pyrolyzing poplar surface leading toward char have been characterized at each step. The primary products were identified by direct analysis in real time (DART) mass spectrometry, and the changes in the poplar surface were monitored using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) photoacoustic spectroscopy, with a sampling depth of a few micrometers. The primary products from pyrolyzing cellulose,more » xylan, and lignin under similar conditions were also characterized to identify the sources of the poplar products.« less

Molecular Analysis of Primary Vapor and Char Products during Stepwise Pyrolysis of Poplar Biomass

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Roger W.; Reinot, Tonu; McClelland, John F.

2010-08-30

Pyrolysis of biomass produces both pyrolysis oil and solid char. In this study, poplar has been pyrolyzed in a stepwise fashion over a series of temperatures from 200 to 500 C, and both the primary products contributing to pyrolysis oil and the changes in the pyrolyzing poplar surface leading toward char have been characterized at each step. The primary products were identified by direct analysis in real time (DART) mass spectrometry, and the changes in the poplar surface were monitored using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) photoacoustic spectroscopy, with a sampling depth of a few micrometers. The primary products from pyrolyzingmore » cellulose, xylan, and lignin under similar conditions were also characterized to identify the sources of the poplar products.« less

A comprehensive database of poplar research in North America from 1980 - 2010

Treesearch

David R. Coyle; Jill A. Zalesny; Ronald S. Jr. Zalesny

2010-01-01

Short rotation woody crops such as Populus species and hybrids (hereafter referred to as poplars) are renewable energy feedstocks that can potentially be used to offset electricity generation and natural gas use in many temperature regions. Highly productive poplars grown primarily on marginal agricultural sites are an important component of the...

Repetitive Protein Unfolding by the trans Ring of the GroEL-GroES Chaperonin Complex Stimulates Folding*

PubMed Central

Lin, Zong; Puchalla, Jason; Shoup, Daniel; Rye, Hays S.

2013-01-01

A key constraint on the growth of most organisms is the slow and inefficient folding of many essential proteins. To deal with this problem, several diverse families of protein folding machines, known collectively as molecular chaperones, developed early in evolutionary history. The functional role and operational steps of these remarkably complex nanomachines remain subjects of active debate. Here we present evidence that, for the GroEL-GroES chaperonin system, the non-native substrate protein enters the folding cycle on the trans ring of the double-ring GroEL-ATP-GroES complex rather than the ADP-bound complex. The properties of this ATP complex are designed to ensure that non-native substrate protein binds first, followed by ATP and finally GroES. This binding order ensures efficient occupancy of the open GroEL ring and allows for disruption of misfolded structures through two phases of multiaxis unfolding. In this model, repeated cycles of partial unfolding, followed by confinement within the GroEL-GroES chamber, provide the most effective overall mechanism for facilitating the folding of the most stringently dependent GroEL substrate proteins. PMID:24022487

Protein Phosphatase 1ß Limits Ring Canal Constriction during Drosophila Germline Cyst Formation

PubMed Central

Yamamoto, Shinya; Bayat, Vafa; Bellen, Hugo J.; Tan, Change

2013-01-01

Germline cyst formation is essential for the propagation of many organisms including humans and flies. The cytoplasm of germline cyst cells communicate with each other directly via large intercellular bridges called ring canals. Ring canals are often derived from arrested contractile rings during incomplete cytokinesis. However how ring canal formation, maintenance and growth are regulated remains unclear. To better understand this process, we carried out an unbiased genetic screen in Drosophila melanogaster germ cells and identified multiple alleles of flapwing (flw), a conserved serine/threonine-specific protein phosphatase. Flw had previously been reported to be unnecessary for early D. melanogaster oogenesis using a hypomorphic allele. We found that loss of Flw leads to over-constricted nascent ring canals and subsequently tiny mature ring canals, through which cytoplasmic transfer from nurse cells to the oocyte is impaired, resulting in small, non-functional eggs. Flw is expressed in germ cells undergoing incomplete cytokinesis, completely colocalized with the Drosophila myosin binding subunit of myosin phosphatase (DMYPT). This colocalization, together with genetic interaction studies, suggests that Flw functions together with DMYPT to negatively regulate myosin activity during ring canal formation. The identification of two subunits of the tripartite myosin phosphatase as the first two main players required for ring canal constriction indicates that tight regulation of myosin activity is essential for germline cyst formation and reproduction in D. melanogaster and probably other species as well. PMID:23936219

Overrun in Second-Growth Yellow-Poplar

Treesearch

Robert A. Campbell

1959-01-01

Second-growth yellow-poplar is reaching merchantable size in the Southern Appalachians in increasing quantities each year. Although the timber is young and logs are small, it produces lumber of sufficiently high quality to supply the needs of Carolina wood-using industries.

Assembly of the MreB-associated cytoskeletal ring of Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Vats, Purva; Shih, Yu-Ling; Rothfield, Lawrence

2009-04-01

The Escherichia coli actin homologue MreB is part of a helical cytoskeletal structure that winds around the cell between the two poles. It has been shown that MreB redistributes during the cell cycle to form circumferential ring structures that flank the cytokinetic FtsZ ring and appear to be associated with division and segregation of the helical cytoskeleton. We show here that the MreB cytoskeletal ring also contains the MreC, MreD, Pbp2 and RodA proteins. Assembly of MreB, MreC, MreD and Pbp2 into the ring structure required the FtsZ ring but no other known components of the cell division machinery, whereas assembly of RodA into the cytoskeletal ring required one or more additional septasomal components. Strikingly, MreB, MreC, MreD and RodA were each able to independently assemble into the cytoskeletal ring and coiled cytoskeletal structures in the absence of any of the other ring components. This excludes the possibility that one or more of these proteins acts as a scaffold for incorporation of the other proteins into these structures. In contrast, incorporation of Pbp2 required the presence of MreC, which may provide a docking site for Pbp2 entry.

3,3,6,6-Tetra-methyl-9-(2-nitro-phen-yl)-3,4,6,7-tetra-hydro-2H-xanthene-1,8(5H,9H)-dione.

PubMed

Mo, Yingming; Zang, Hong-Jun; Cheng, Bo-Wen

2010-07-31

In the title compound, C(23)H(25)NO(5), the pyran ring adopts a flattened boat conformation, while the two cyclo-hexenone rings are in envelope conformations. The 3-nitro-phenyl ring is almost perpendicular to the pyran ring, making a dihedral angle of 87.1 (3)°.

A novel amido-pyrophosphate Mn(II) chelate complex with the synthetic ligand O{P(O)[NHC(CH3)3]2}2 (L): [Mn(L)2{OC(H)N(CH3)2}2]Cl2·2H2O.

PubMed

Tarahhomi, Atekeh; Pourayoubi, Mehrdad; Fejfarová, Karla; Dušek, Michal

2013-03-01

The title complex, trans-bis(dimethylformamide-κO)bis{N,N'-N'',N'''-tetra-tert-butyl[oxybis(phosphonic diamide-κO)]}manganese(II) dichloride dihydrate, [Mn(C16H40N4O3P2)2(C3H7NO)2]Cl2·2H2O, is the first example of a bis-chelate amido-pyrophosphate (pyrophosphoramide) complex containing an O[P(O)(NH)2]2 fragment. Its asymmetric unit contains half of the complex dication, one chloride anion and one water molecule. The Mn(II) atom, located on an inversion centre, is octahedrally coordinated, with a slight elongation towards the monodentate dimethylformamide ligand. Structural features of the title complex, such as the P=O bond lengths and the planarity of the chelate ring, are compared with those of previously reported complexes with six-membered chelates involving the fragments C(O)NHP(O), (X)NP(O) [X = C(O), C(S), S(O)2 and P(O)] and O[P(O)(N)2]2. This analysis shows that the six-membered chelate rings are less puckered in pyrophosphoramide complexes containing a P(O)OP(O) skeleton, such as the title compound. The extended structure of the title complex involves a linear aggregate mediated by N-H...O and N-H...Cl hydrogen bonds, in which the chloride anion is an acceptor in two additional O-H...Cl hydrogen bonds.

Assembly interdependence among the S. cerevisiae bud neck ring proteins Elm1p, Hsl1p and Cdc12p.

PubMed

Thomas, Courtney L; Blacketer, Melissa J; Edgington, Nicholas P; Myers, Alan M

2003-07-15

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a complex comprising more than 20 different polypeptides assembles in a ring at the neck between the mother cell and the bud. This complex functions to coordinate cell morphology with cell division. Relatively little is known about this control system, including the physical relationships between the components of the neck ring. This study addressed the assembly interactions of three components of the ring, specifically the protein kinases Elm1p and Hsl1p and the septin Cdc12p. Specific amino acid substitutions in each of these three proteins were identified that either cause or suppress a characteristic phenotype of abnormally elongated cells and delay in the G(2)-M transition. Each protein was fused to green fluorescent protein, and its ability to localize at the neck was monitored in vivo in cells of various genotypes. Localization of Hsl1p to the neck requires Elm1p function. Elm1p localized normally in the absence of Hsl1p, although a specific point mutation in Hsl1p clearly affected Elm1p localization. The cdc12-122 mutation prevented assembly of Elm1p or Hsl1p into the neck ring. Normal assembly of Cdc12p at the neck was dependent upon Elm1p and also, to a smaller extent, on Hsl1p. Ectopic localization of Cdc12p at the bud tip was observed frequently in elm1 mutants and also, to a lesser extent, in hsl1 mutants. Thus, Elm1p is a key factor in the assembly and/or maintenance of Hsl1p, as well as at least one septin, into the bud neck ring. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rho1- and Pkc1-dependent phosphorylation of the F-BAR protein Syp1 contributes to septin ring assembly

PubMed Central

Merlini, Laura; Bolognesi, Alessio; Juanes, Maria Angeles; Vandermoere, Franck; Courtellemont, Thibault; Pascolutti, Roberta; Séveno, Martial; Barral, Yves; Piatti, Simonetta

2015-01-01

In many cell types, septins assemble into filaments and rings at the neck of cellular appendages and/or at the cleavage furrow to help compartmentalize the plasma membrane and support cytokinesis. How septin ring assembly is coordinated with membrane remodeling and controlled by mechanical stress at these sites is unclear. Through a genetic screen, we uncovered an unanticipated link between the conserved Rho1 GTPase and its effector protein kinase C (Pkc1) with septin ring stability in yeast. Both Rho1 and Pkc1 stabilize the septin ring, at least partly through phosphorylation of the membrane-associated F-BAR protein Syp1, which colocalizes asymmetrically with the septin ring at the bud neck. Syp1 is displaced from the bud neck upon Pkc1-dependent phosphorylation at two serines, thereby affecting the rigidity of the new-forming septin ring. We propose that Rho1 and Pkc1 coordinate septin ring assembly with membrane and cell wall remodeling partly by controlling Syp1 residence at the bud neck. PMID:26179915

Gene and enhancer trap tagging of vascular-expressed genes in poplar trees

Treesearch

Andrew Groover; Joseph R. Fontana; Gayle Dupper; Caiping Ma; Robert Martienssen; Steven Strauss; Richard Meilan

2004-01-01

We report a gene discovery system for poplar trees based on gene and enhancer traps. Gene and enhancer trap vectors carrying the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene were inserted into the poplar genome via Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation, where they reveal the expression pattern of genes at or near the insertion sites. Because GUS...

X-Ray study of hetero ring flexibility in norbornane, norbornene-fused 1,3-oxazin-2-thiones Structure of 5,8-methano- r-4-phenyl-c-4a, c-5,6,7, c-8, c- 8a-hexahydro-4H- 1 ,3-benzoxazin-2 (3H)-thione

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kálmán, A.; Argay, Gy.; Stájer, G.; Bernáth, G.

1991-08-01

The structure of S,8-methano- r-4-phenyl c4a, c5,6,7 c8 c8ahexahydro4 H 1,3 -benzoxazin- 2 (3 H)-thione (C 15H 17N0S, M r=259.37) has been established by X-ray crystallography from diffractometer data: it crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2 1/n with a=6.150(2) Å, b=9.655(1) Å, c=22.093(4) Å,β=96.75(2)† V=1302.7(8) Å 3,4,D c=1.32gcm -3and p( Cu K) =20.4cm -. The structure has been solved by direct methods, refined to R=0.050 for 2193 observed reflections. The X-ray analysis substantiated the structure: the NMR spectra in- dicated that the 4-phenyl group assumes an exo-equatorial position. The puckering parameters of D. Cremer, J.A. Pople, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 97 (1975), 1354 (ref.1), of the distorted hetero ring (a transitional form between E 4-envelope, ( 5S 4-screw-boat) show that, depending on the positions of the hetero atoms, both the norbornane, norbornene skeletons markedly alter the characteristic transitional ( 5E/ 5H 6) shape of the 1,3-oxazine ring observed in other saturated, partly saturated l,3-benzoxazin-2-ones, analogous thiones.

Contrasting fine-root production, survival and soil CO2 efflux in pine and poplar plantation

Treesearch

M. D. Coleman; Richard E. Dickson; J. G. Isebrands

2000-01-01

Tree root activity, including fine-root production, turnover and metabolic activity are significant components of forest productivity and nutrient cycling. Differences in root activity among forest types are not well known. A 3-year study was undertaken in red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and hybrid poplar (Populus tristis X P.

Contrasting fine-root production, survival and soil CO2 efflux in pine and poplar plantations

Treesearch

M.D. Coleman; R.E. Dickson; J.G. Isebrands

2000-01-01

Tree root activity, including fine-root production, turnover and metabolic activity are significant components of forest productivity and nutrient cycling. Differences in root activity among forest types are not well known. A 3-year study was undertaken in red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and hybrid poplar (Populus tristis X P.

An Occultation by Saturn's Rings on 1991 October 2-3 October 2-3 Observed with the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elliot, J. L.; Bosh, A. S.; Cooke, M. L.; Bless, R. C.; Nelson, M. J.; Percival, J. W.; Taylor, M. J.; Dolan, J. F.; Robinson, E. L.; Van Citters, G. W.

1993-01-01

An occultation of the star GSC 6323-01396 (V = 11.9) by Saturn's rings was observed with the High-Speed Photometer on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on 1991 October 2-3. This occultation occurred when Saturn was near a stationary point, so the apparent motion of Saturn relative to the star was dominated by the HST orbital motion (8 km/s). Data were recorded simultaneously at effective wavelengths of 3200 and 7500 A, with an integration time of 0.15 s. Fifteen segments of occultation data, totaling 6.8 h, were recorded in 13 successive orbits during the 20.0 h interval from UTC 1991 October 2, 19:35 until UTC 1991 October 3, 15:35. Occultations by 43 different features throughout the classical rings were unambiguously identified in the light curve, with a second occultation by 24 of them occurring due to spacecraft orbital parallax during this extremely slow event. Occultation times for features currently presumed circular were measured and employed in a geometrical model for the rings. This model, relating the observed occultation times to feature radii and longitudes, is presented here and is used in a least-squares fit for the pole direction and radius scale of Saturn's ring system.

Interactions between whey proteins and salivary proteins as related to astringency of whey protein beverages at low pH.

PubMed

Ye, A; Streicher, C; Singh, H

2011-12-01

Whey protein beverages have been shown to be astringent at low pH. In the present study, the interactions between model whey proteins (β-lactoglobulin and lactoferrin) and human saliva in the pH range from 7 to 2 were investigated using particle size, turbidity, and ζ-potential measurements and sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE. The correlation between the sensory results of astringency and the physicochemical data was discussed. Strong interactions between β-lactoglobulin and salivary proteins led to an increase in the particle size and turbidity of mixtures of both unheated and heated β-lactoglobulin and human saliva at pH ∼3.4. However, the large particle size and high turbidity that occurred at pH 2.0 were the result of aggregation of human salivary proteins. The intense astringency in whey protein beverages may result from these increases in particle size and turbidity at these pH values and from the aggregation and precipitation of human salivary proteins alone at pH <3.0. The involvement of salivary proteins in the interaction is a key factor in the perception of astringency in whey protein beverages. At any pH, the increases in particle size and turbidity were much smaller in mixtures of lactoferrin and saliva, which suggests that aggregation and precipitation may not be the only mechanism linked to the perception of astringency in whey protein. Copyright © 2011 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prolonged Adaptation to a Low or High Protein Diet Does Not Modulate Basal Muscle Protein Synthesis Rates – A Substudy

PubMed Central

Hursel, Rick; Martens, Eveline A. P.; Gonnissen, Hanne K. J.; Hamer, Henrike M.; Senden, Joan M. G.; van Loon, Luc J. C.; Westerterp-Plantenga, Margriet S.

2015-01-01

Background Based on controlled 36 h experiments a higher dietary protein intake causes a positive protein balance and a negative fat balance. A positive net protein balance may support fat free mass accrual. However, few data are available on the impact of more prolonged changes in habitual protein intake on whole-body protein metabolism and basal muscle protein synthesis rates. Objective To assess changes in whole-body protein turnover and basal muscle protein synthesis rates following 12 weeks of adaptation to a low versus high dietary protein intake. Methods A randomized parallel study was performed in 40 subjects who followed either a high protein (2.4 g protein/kg/d) or low protein (0.4 g protein/kg/d) energy-balanced diet (30/35/35% or 5/60/35% energy from protein/carbohydrate/fat) for a period of 12 weeks. A subgroup of 7 men and 8 women (body mass index: 22.8±2.3 kg/m2, age: 24.3±4.9 y) were selected to evaluate the impact of prolonged adaptation to either a high or low protein intake on whole body protein metabolism and basal muscle protein synthesis rates. After the diet, subjects received continuous infusions with L-[ring-2H5]phenylalanine and L-[ring-2H2]tyrosine in an overnight fasted state, with blood samples and muscle biopsies being collected to assess post-absorptive whole-body protein turnover and muscle protein synthesis rates in vivo in humans. Results After 12 weeks of intervention, whole-body protein balance in the fasted state was more negative in the high protein treatment when compared with the low protein treatment (-4.1±0.5 vs -2.7±0.6 μmol phenylalanine/kg/h;P<0.001). Whole-body protein breakdown (43.0±4.4 vs 37.8±3.8 μmol phenylalanine/kg/h;P<0.03), synthesis (38.9±4.2 vs 35.1±3.6 μmol phenylalanine/kg/h;P<0.01) and phenylalanine hydroxylation rates (4.1±0.6 vs 2.7±0.6 μmol phenylalanine/kg/h;P<0.001) were significantly higher in the high vs low protein group. Basal muscle protein synthesis rates were maintained on a low

Neptune Rings and 1989N2

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-01-29

In this image from NASA's Voyager wide-angle taken on Aug. 23 1989, the two main rings of Neptune can be clearly seen. In the lower part of the frame the originally announced ring arc, consisting of three distinct features, is visible. This feature covers about 35 degrees of longitude and has yet to be radially resolved in Voyager images. From higher resolution images it is known that this region contains much more material than the diffuse belts seen elsewhere in its orbit, which seem to encircle the planet. This is consistent with the fact that ground-based observations of stellar occultations by the rings show them to be very broken and clumpy. The more sensitive wide-angle camera is revealing more widely distributed but fainter material. Each of these rings of material lies just outside of the orbit of a newly discovered moon. One of these moons, 1989N2, may be seen in the upper right corner. The moon is streaked by its orbital motion, whereas the stars in the frame are less smeared. The dark area around the bright moon and star are artifacts of the processing required to bring out the faint rings. This wide-angle image was taken from a range of 2 million kilometers (1.2 million miles), through the clear filter. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00053

The Atlantic-Mediterranean watershed, river basins and glacial history shape the genetic structure of Iberian poplars.

PubMed

Macaya-Sanz, D; Heuertz, M; López-de-Heredia, U; De-Lucas, A I; Hidalgo, E; Maestro, C; Prada, A; Alía, R; González-Martínez, S C

2012-07-01

Recent phylogeographic studies have elucidated the effects of Pleistocene glaciations and of Pre-Pleistocene events on populations from glacial refuge areas. This study investigates those effects in riparian trees (Populus spp.), whose particular features may convey enhanced resistance to climate fluctuations. We analysed the phylogeographic structure of 44 white (Populus alba), 13 black (Populus nigra) and two grey (Populus x canescens) poplar populations in the Iberian Peninsula using plastid DNA microsatellites and sequences. We also assessed fine-scale spatial genetic structure and the extent of clonality in four white and one grey poplar populations using nuclear microsatellites and we determined quantitative genetic differentiation (Q(ST) ) for growth traits in white poplar. Black poplar displayed higher regional diversity and lower differentiation than white poplar, reflecting its higher cold-tolerance. The dependence of white poplar on phreatic water was evidenced by strong differentiation between the Atlantic and Mediterranean drainage basins and among river basins, and by weaker isolation by distance within than among river basins. Our results suggest confinement to the lower river courses during glacial periods and moderate interglacial gene exchange along coastlines. In northern Iberian river basins, white poplar had lower diversity, fewer private haplotypes and larger clonal assemblies than in southern basins, indicating a stronger effect of glaciations in the north. Despite strong genetic structure and frequent asexual propagation in white poplar, some growth traits displayed adaptive divergence between drainage and river basins (Q(ST) >F(ST)), highlighting the remarkable capacity of riparian tree populations to adapt to regional environmental conditions. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Reconnaissance evaluation of contamination in the alluvial aquifer in the East Poplar oil field, Roosevelt County, Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Levings, G.W.

1984-01-01

Water moving from north to south in the alluvial aquifer of the Poplar River valley becomes contaminated with sodium chloride in the area underlain by the East Poplar oil fields. Four types of ground water were identified in the study area. Type 1 is sodium bicarbonate water. Type 2 is sodium chloride water with varying quantities of calcium and magnesium. Type 3 water contains sodium and chloride in significantly larger concentrations than Type 2. Type 4 water is the brine being injected into brine-disposal wells. Contamination of the alluvial aquifer is indicated by a brine-freshwater interface in the alluvium, by downstream increase in chloride concentration of the Poplar River, and by downstream change in water type of the Poplar River. Contamination also may be indicated by the distribution of iron and manganese concentrations in water from wells near a brine-disposal well. Possible sources of sodium chloride contamination in the alluvium are brine-disposal wells, pipelines, and storage or evaporation pits. The contamination can occur from leaks in the casing of disposal wells or in pipelines caused by the corrosive nature of the brine or from storage or evaporation pits that have been improperly sealed or have sustained tears in the sealing material. (USGS)

[Water utilization characteristics of the degraded poplar shelterbelts in Zhangbei, Hebei, China.

PubMed

Zhang, Huan; Cao, Jun; Wang, Hua Bing; Song, Bo; Jia, Guo Dong; Liu, Zi Qiang; Yu, Xin Xiao; Zeng, Jia

2018-05-01

In Zhangbei County, Hebei Province, poplar-dominated shelterbelts are degraded to different extents. Water availability is the main limiting factor for plant survival in arid areas. The purpose of this study was to reveal the relationship between water availability and poplar degradation. Based on the hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope techniques, we explored the water sources of Populus simonii under different degradation degrees by comparing the isotopic values of P. simonii xylem water with that in potential water source, and calculated the utilization ratio of each water source. The results showed that the water sources of poplar trees varied with degradation degree. The water sources of P. simonii gradually transferred from the deep layer to the surface layer with the increases of degradation. P. simonii with no degradation mainly absorbed soil water in the range of 320-400 cm, with the utilization rate being 25.1%. P. simonii with slight degradation mainly used soil water at depth of 120-180, 180-240 and 240-320 cm. The total utilization rate of three layers was close to 50.0%, with less utilization of water from other layers. The moderately degraded P. simonii mainly used soil water at depth of 20-40, 40-60 and 60-80 cm. The utilization rate of each layer was 17.5%-20.9%, and the contribution rate of soil water under 120 cm was less than 10.0%. The severely degraded P. simonii mainly used water from surface soil layer (0-20 cm), with the utilization rate being 30.4%, which was significantly higher than that of other water sources. The water sources of poplar shelter forests were gradually shallower during the process of degradation. However, the low soil water content in the shallow layer could not meet the normal water demand of poplar, which would accelerate the degradation and even decline of poplar.

Crystal structure of (E)-2-[(2-bromopyridin-3-yl)methyl-idene]-6-meth-oxy-3,4-di-hydro-naphthalen-1(2H)-one and 3-[(E)-(6-meth-oxy-1-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetra-hydro-naphthalen-2-ylidene)meth-yl]pyridin-2(1H)-one.

PubMed

Zingales, Sarah K; Moore, Morgan E; Goetz, Andrew D; Padgett, Clifford W

2016-07-01

The title compounds C17H14BrNO2, (I), and C17H15NO3, (II), were obtained from the reaction of 6-meth-oxy-3,4-di-hydro-2H-naphthalen-1-one and 2-bromo-nicotinaldehyde in ethanol. Compound (I) was the expected product and compound (II) was the oxidation product from air exposure. In the crystal structure of compound (I), there are no short contacts or hydrogen bonds. The structure does display π-π inter-actions between adjacent benzene rings and adjacent pyridyl rings. Compound (II) contains two independent mol-ecules, A and B, in the asymmetric unit; both are non-planar, the dihedral angles between the meth-oxy-benzene and 1H-pyridin-2-one mean planes being 35.07 (9)° in A and 35.28 (9)°in B. In each mol-ecule, the 1H-pyridin-2-one unit participates in inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding to another mol-ecule of the same type (A to A or B to B). The structure also displays π-π inter-actions between the pyridyl and the benzene rings of non-equivalent mol-ecules (viz., A to B and B to A).

Effects of root pruning on the physicochemical properties and microbial activities of poplar rhizosphere soil.

PubMed

Jing, Da-Wei; Liu, Fang-Chun; Wang, Ming-You; Ma, Hai-Lin; Du, Zhen-Yu; Ma, Bing-Yao; Dong, Yu-Feng

2017-01-01

This study aimed to determine the effects of root pruning on the physicochemical characteristics and microbial activities of poplar rhizosphere soil. The root systems of 5-year-old poplar (Populus×euramericana cv. 'Neva') trees were manually pruned at 6, 8, or 10 times diameter at breast height (DBH) from the trunk (severe, moderate, and light, respectively) along both inter-row sides. Moderate root pruning significantly increased the concentrations of amino acids, organic acids, and total sugars in the root exudates and decreased the pH of rhizosphere soil. This treatment also increased the contents of available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and total organic carbon as well as high-, medium-, and low-activity organic carbon in rhizosphere soil. Moreover, moderate pruning increased the contents of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and enhanced basal respiration, in addition to decreasing the metabolic quotients in rhizosphere soil by 8.9%, 5.0%, and 11.4% compared with control, light, and severe root pruning treatments, respectively. Moderate pruning increased the growth rates of DBH, tree height, and volume to the highest levels. Furthermore, these indices were not significantly different between the light root pruning and control groups, but varied significantly between severe and moderate root-pruning treatments. Thus, root pruning, depending on the distance from the trunk, significantly influences the physicochemical properties and microbial activities in poplar rhizosphere soil.

Effects of root pruning on the physicochemical properties and microbial activities of poplar rhizosphere soil

PubMed Central

Jing, Da-Wei; Liu, Fang-Chun; Wang, Ming-You; Ma, Hai-Lin; Du, Zhen-Yu; Ma, Bing-Yao; Dong, Yu-Feng

2017-01-01

This study aimed to determine the effects of root pruning on the physicochemical characteristics and microbial activities of poplar rhizosphere soil. The root systems of 5-year-old poplar (Populus×euramericana cv. ‘Neva’) trees were manually pruned at 6, 8, or 10 times diameter at breast height (DBH) from the trunk (severe, moderate, and light, respectively) along both inter-row sides. Moderate root pruning significantly increased the concentrations of amino acids, organic acids, and total sugars in the root exudates and decreased the pH of rhizosphere soil. This treatment also increased the contents of available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and total organic carbon as well as high-, medium-, and low-activity organic carbon in rhizosphere soil. Moreover, moderate pruning increased the contents of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and enhanced basal respiration, in addition to decreasing the metabolic quotients in rhizosphere soil by 8.9%, 5.0%, and 11.4% compared with control, light, and severe root pruning treatments, respectively. Moderate pruning increased the growth rates of DBH, tree height, and volume to the highest levels. Furthermore, these indices were not significantly different between the light root pruning and control groups, but varied significantly between severe and moderate root-pruning treatments. Thus, root pruning, depending on the distance from the trunk, significantly influences the physicochemical properties and microbial activities in poplar rhizosphere soil. PMID:29117215

Preparation of the membrane-permeant biarsenicals, FlAsH-EDT2 and ReAsH-EDT2 for fluorescent labeling of tetracysteine-tagged proteins

PubMed Central

Adams, Stephen R.; Tsien, Roger Y.

2010-01-01

The membrane-permeant, fluorogenic biarsenicals, FlAsH-EDT2 and ReAsH-EDT2 can be prepared in good yields by a straightforward two-step procedure from the inexpensive precursor dyes, fluorescein and resorufin respectively. Handling of toxic reagents such as arsenic trichloride is minimized so the synthesis can be carried out in a typical chemistry laboratory, typically taking about 2–3 days. A wide range of other biarsenicals reagents and intermediates that also bind to tetracysteine-tagged (CysCysProGlyCysCys) proteins can be prepared similarly using this general procedure. PMID:18772880

Antibiofilm and Antioxidant Activity of Propolis and Bud Poplar Resins versus Pseudomonas aeruginosa

PubMed Central

De Marco, Stefania; Piccioni, Miranda; Pagiotti, Rita

2017-01-01

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common biofilm-forming bacterial pathogen implicated in lung, skin, and systemic infections. Biofilms are majorly associated with chronic lung infection, which is the most severe complication in cystic fibrosis patients characterized by drug-resistant biofilms in the bronchial mucus with zones, where reactive oxygen species concentration is increased mainly due to neutrophil activity. Aim of this work is to verify the anti-Pseudomonas property of propolis or bud poplar resins extracts. The antimicrobial activity of propolis and bud poplar resins extracts was determined by MIC and biofilm quantification. Moreover, we tested the antioxidant activity by DPPH and neutrophil oxidative burst assays. In the end, both propolis and bud poplar resins extracts were able to inhibit P. aeruginosa biofilm formation and to influence both swimming and swarming motility. Moreover, the extracts could inhibit proinflammatory cytokine production by human PBMC and showed both direct and indirect antioxidant activity. This work is the first to demonstrate that propolis and bud poplar resins extracts can influence biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa contrasting the inflammation and the oxidation state typical of chronic infection suggesting that propolis or bud poplar resins can be used along with antibiotic as adjuvant in the therapy against P. aeruginosa infections related to biofilm. PMID:28127379

A Laser Photoacoustic Analysis of Residual CO2 and H2O in Larch Stems

PubMed Central

Ageev, Boris; Ponomarev, Yurii; Sapozhnikova, Valeria; Savchuk, Dmitry

2014-01-01

Every so often, the results obtained from investigations into the effects of varying environmental conditions on the tree growth rate at the same sites and on the change in the carbon balance in plants, using traditional methods, are found to differ widely. We believe that the reason for the ambiguity of the data has to do with failure to account for the role of the residual CO2 (and H2O) in the tree wood exhibiting a climate response. In our earlier work, the results of a laser photoacoustic gas analysis of CO2 and H2O vacuum-desorbed from disc tree rings of evergreen conifer trees were presented. In this paper, laser photoacoustic measurements of tree ring gases in deciduous conifer trees and CO2 carbon isotope composition determined by means of a mass spectrometer are given. Conclusions are made regarding the response of annual larch CO2 disc tree ring distributions to climatic parameters (temperatures and precipitation). The data about the CO2 disc content for different sites are compared. PMID:25808838

Effects of chronic and acute exposure to sulphur dioxide on the growth of hybrid poplar cuttings

Treesearch

Leon S. Dochinger; Keith F. Jensen

1975-01-01

Hybrid poplar clones were fumigated in controlled-environment chambers with either 5 ppm sulphur dioxide for 1½, 3, and 6 h or with 0.25 ppm sulphur dioxide for six weeks. Multivariate analyses were made from shoot-growth data before and after treatment and on the foliar injury induced by S02. Both short- and long-term fumigation produced similar...

Bond Energies and Thermochemical Properties of Ring-Opened Diradicals and Carbenes of exo-Tricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]decane.

PubMed

Hudzik, Jason M; Castillo, Álvaro; Bozzelli, Joseph W

2015-09-24

Exo-tricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]decane (TCD) or exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene is an interesting strained ring compound and the single-component high-energy density hydrocarbon fuel known as JP-10. Important initial reactions of TCD at high temperatures could cleave a strained carbon-carbon (C-C) bond in the ring system creating diradicals also constrained by the remaining ring system. This study determines the thermochemical properties of these diradicals (TCD-H2 mJ-nJ where m and n correspond to the cleaved carbons sites) including the carbon-carbon bond dissociation energy (C-C BDE) corresponding to the cleaved TCD site. Thermochemical properties including enthalpies (ΔH°f298), entropies (S(T)), heat capacities (Cp(T)), and C-H and C-C BDEs for the parent (TCD-H2 m-n), radical (TCD-H2 mJ-n and m-nJ), diradical (TCD-H2 mJ-nJ), and carbene (TCD-H2 mJJ-n and m-nJJ) species are determined. Structures, vibrational frequencies, moments of inertia, and internal rotor potentials are calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. Standard enthalpies of formation in the gas phase for the TCD-H2 m-n parent and radical species are determined using the B3LYP density functional theory and the higher level G3MP2B3 and CBS-QB3 composite methods. For singlet and triplet TCD diradicals and carbenes, M06-2X, ωB97X-D, and CCSD(T) methods are included in the analysis to determine ΔH°f298 values. The C-C BDEs are further calculated using CASMP2(2,2)/aug-cc-pvtz//CASSCF(2,2)/cc-pvtz and with the CASMP2 energies extrapolated to the complete basis set limit. The bond energies calculated with these methods are shown to be comparable to the other calculation methods. Isodesmic work reactions are used for enthalpy analysis of these compounds for effective cancelation of systematic errors arising from ring strain. C-C BDEs range from 77.4 to 84.6 kcal mol(-1) for TCD diradical singlet species. C-H BDEs for the parent TCD-H2 m-n carbon sites range from 93 to 101 kcal mol(-1) with a

Functional repression of PtSND2 represses growth and development by disturbing auxin biosynthesis, transport and signaling in transgenic poplar.

PubMed

Wang, Haihai; Tang, Renjie; Wang, Cuiting; Qi, Qi; Gai, Ying; Jiang, Xiangning; Zhang, Hongxia

2015-01-01

Using chimeric repressor silencing technology, we previously reported that functional repression of PtSND2 severely arrested wood formation in transgenic poplar (Populus). Here, we provide further evidence that auxin biosynthesis, transport and signaling were disturbed in these transgenic plants, leading to pleiotropic defects in their growth patterns, including inhibited leaf enlargement and vascular tissue development in the leaf central vein, suppressed cambial growth and fiber elongation in the stem, and arrested growth in the root system. Two transgenic lines, which displayed the most remarkable phenotypic deviation from the wild-type, were selected for detailed studies. In both transgenic lines, expression of genes for auxin biosynthesis, transport and signaling was down-regulated, and indole-3-acetic acid distribution was severely disturbed in the apical buds, leaves, stems and roots of field-grown transgenic plants. Transient transcription dual-luciferase assays of ProPtTYDC2::LUC, ProPttLAX2::LUC and ProPoptrIAA20.2::LUC in poplar protoplasts revealed that expression of auxin-related genes might be regulated by PtSND2 at the transcriptional level. All these results indicate that functional repression of PtSND2 altered auxin biosynthesis, transport and signaling, and thereby disturbed the normal growth and development of transgenic plants. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Foods of juvenile ring-necked ducks: Relationship to wetland pH

USGS Publications Warehouse

McAuley, D.G.; Longcore, J.R.

1988-01-01

Foods of 37 juvenile ring-necked ducks (Aythya collaris) from 16 different wetlands were examined in eastcentral Maine in 1983-85. Invertebrates made up 70% aggregate dry weight (100% occurrence) of the foods of Class Ia-lla ( 24 days old) ducklings and 32% (86% occurrence) of Class lIb-III ( 25 days old) ducklings. These percentages may be as high as 85% for Ia-lla ducklings and 47% for lIb-III ducklings after adjusting for insect sclerites. Ducklings ate invertebrates from 44 taxa and seeds or fibers from 23 plant taxa. Freshwater sponges (Porifera) were the most important invertebrate and constituted 23% of the foods of all ducklings. Seeds of pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.) were the most important plant foods. Diets of ducklings from high-pH (>6.1) wetlands were more diverse (t = 2.54, P = 0.021) than those from low-pH (<6.1) wetlands and consisted of 33 invertebrate taxa. Only 17 taxa occurred in ducklings from low-pH ponds. Class Ia-lla ducklings from high-pH wetlands ate more invertebrates (77%) than ducklings from lower-pH wetlands (61%), although the difference was not significant (P = 0.21). Sponges made up the largest percentage of the diets and occurred in similar amounts in high- (34%) and low- (31.5%) pH wetlands.

An Investigation of Armenite, BaCa2Al6Si9O302H2O.H2O Molecules and H Bonding in Microporous Silicates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geiger, C. A.; Gatta, G.; Xue, X.; McIntyre, G.

2012-12-01

The crystal chemistry of armenite, ideally BaCa2Al6Si9O30.2H2O, a double-ring structure belonging to the milarite group, was studied to better understand the nature of extra-framework "Ca-oxygen-anion-H2O-molecule quasi-clusters" and H bonding behavior in microporous silicates. Neutron and X-ray single-crystal diffraction and IR powder and 1H NMR spectroscopic measurements were made. Four crystallographically independent Ca and H2O molecule sites were refined from the diffraction data, whereby both sites appear to have partial occupancies such that locally a Ca atom can have only a single H2O molecule bonded to it through an ion-dipole interaction. The Ca cation is further bonded to six O atoms of the framework forming a quasi cluster around it. The neutron results give the first static description of the protons in armenite, allowing bond distances and angles relating to the H2O molecules and H bonds to be determined. The IR spectrum of armenite is characterized in the OH-stretching region at RT by two broad bands at roughly 3470 and 3410 cm-1 and by a single H2O bending mode at 1654 cm-1. At 10 K four intense OH bands are located at 3479, 3454, 3401 and 3384 cm-1 and two H2O bending modes at 1650 and 1606 cm-1. The 1H MAS NMR spectrum shows a single strong resonance near 5.3 ppm and a smaller one near 2.7 ppm. The former can be assigned to H2O molecules bonded to Ca and the latter to weakly bonded H2O located at a site at the center of the structural double ring and it is partially occupied. The nature of H bonding in the microporous Ca-bearing zeolites scolecite, wairakite and epistilbite are also analyzed. The average OH stretching wavenumber shown by the IR spectra of armenite (~3435 cm-1) and scolecite (~3430 cm-1) are similar, while the average OH wavenumbers for wairakite (~3475 cm-1) and epistilbite (~3500 cm-1) are greater. In all cases the average OH stretching wavenumber is more similar to that of liquid water (~3400 cm-1) than of ice (~3220 cm-1). The

Spectroscopic properties of morin in various CH3OH-H2O and CH3CN-H2O mixed solvents.

PubMed

Park, Hyoung-Ryun; Im, Seo-Eun; Seo, Jung-Ja; Kim, Bong-Gon; Yoon, Jin Ah; Bark, Ki-Min

2015-01-01

The specific fluorescence properties of morin (3,2',4',5,7-pentahydroxyflavone) were studied in various CH3OH-H2O and CH3CN-H2O mixed solvents. Although the dihedral angle is large in the S0 state, morin has an almost planar molecular structure in the S1 state owing to the very low rotational energy barrier around the interring bond between B and the A, C ring. The excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) at the S1 state cannot occur immediately after excitation, S1 → S0 fluorescence can be observed. Two conformers, Morin A and B have been known. At the CH3OH-H2O, Morin B will be the principal species but at the CH3CN-H2O, Morin A is the principal species. At the CH3OH-H2O, owing to the large Franck-Condon (FC) factor for S2 → S1 internal convernal (IC) and flexible molecular structure, only S1 → S0 fluorescence was exhibited. At the CH3CN-H2O, as the FC factor for S2 → S1 IC is small and molecular structure is rigid, S2 → S0 and S1 → S0 dual fluorescence was observed. This abnormal fluorescence property was further supported by the small pK1 value, effective delocalization of the lone pair electrons of C(2')-OH to the A, C ring, and a theoretical calculation. © 2014 The American Society of Photobiology.