Amino Acid Substitutions at Position 43 of Nae I Endonuclease: EVIDENCE FOR CHANGES INNaeI STRUCTURE

NaeI endonuclease contains a 10-amino acid region with sequence similarity to the active site KXDG motif of DNA ligase except for leucine (Leu-43) in NaeI ((43)LXDG(46)). Changing Leu-43 to lysine abolishes the NaeI endonuclease activity and replaces it with topoisomerase and recombinase activities. Here we report the results of substituting Leu-43 with alanine, arginine, asparagine, glutamate, and histidine. Quantitating specific activities and DNA binding values for the mutant proteins determined the range of amino acids at position 43 that alter NaeI mechanism. Substituting alanine, asparagine, glutamate, and histidine for Leu-43 maintained endonuclease activity, but at a lower level. On the other hand, substituting positively charged arginine, like lysine at position 43, converted NaeI to a topoisomerase with no observable double-strand cleavage activity. The specific activities of NaeI-43K and NaeI-43R and their relative sensitivities to salt, the topoisomerase-inhibiting drug N-[4-(9-acridinylamino)-3-methoxyphenyl]methane-sulfonamide (amsacrine) and single-stranded DNA showed that the two activities are similar. The effect of placing a positive charge at position 43 on NaeI structure was determined by measuring (for NaeI and NaeI-43K) relative susceptibilities to proteolysis, UV, circular dichroism spectra, and temperature melting transitions. The results provide evidence that a positive charge at position 43 induces dramatic changes in NaeI structure that affect both the Endo and Topo domains of NaeI. The identification of four putative DNA ligase motifs in NaeI leads us to speculate that structural changes that superimpose these motifs on the ligase structure may account for the changes in activity

Removing Orbital Debris with Lasers

Orbital debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) are now sufficiently dense that the use of LEO space is threatened by runaway collisional cascading. A problem predicted more than thirty years ago, the threat from debris larger than about 1 cm demands serious attention. A promising proposed solution uses a high power pulsed laser system on the Earth to make plasma jets on the objects, slowing them slightly, and causing them to re-enter and burn up in the atmosphere. In this paper, we reassess this approach in light of recent advances in low-cost, light-weight modular design for large mirrors, calculations of laser-induced orbit changes and in design of repetitive, multi-kilojoule lasers, that build on inertial fusion research. These advances now suggest that laser orbital debris removal (LODR) is the most cost-effective way to mitigate the debris problem. No other solutions have been proposed that address the whole problem of large and small debris. A LODR system will have multiple uses beyond debris removal. International cooperation will be essential for building and operating such a system.Comment: 37 pages, 15 figures, in preparation for submission to Advances in Space Researc

Author Correction: Drivers of seedling establishment success in dryland restoration efforts

1 Pág. Correción errata.In the version of this Article originally published, the surname of author Tina Parkhurst was incorrectly written as Schroeder. This has now been corrected.Peer reviewe

The 2021 release of the Quantemol database (QDB) of plasma chemistries and reactions

The Quantemol database (QDB) provides cross sections and rates of processes important for plasma models; heavy particle collisions (chemical reactions) and electron collision processes are considered. The current version of QDB has data on 28\,917 processes between 2\,485 distinct species plus data for surface processes. These data are available via a web interface or can be delivered directly to plasma models using an application program interface (API); data are available in formats suitable for direct input into a variety of popular plasma modelling codes including HPEM, COMSOL, ChemKIN, CFD-ACE+, and VisGlow. QDB provides ready assembled plasma chemistries plus the ability to build bespoke chemistries. The database also provides a Boltzmann solver for electron dynamics and a zero-dimensional model. These developments, use cases involving O$_2$, Ar/NF$_3$, Ar/NF$_3$/O$_2$, and He/H$_2$O/O$_2$ chemistries, and plans for the future are presented

Drivers of seedling establishment success in dryland restoration efforts

Restoration of degraded drylands is urgently needed to mitigate climate change, reverse desertification and secure livelihoods for the two billion people who live in these areas. Bold global targets have been set for dryland restoration to restore millions of hectares of degraded land. These targets have been questioned as overly ambitious, but without a global evaluation of successes and failures it is impossible to gauge feasibility. Here we examine restoration seeding outcomes across 174 sites on six continents, encompassing 594,065 observations of 671 plant species. Our findings suggest reasons for optimism. Seeding had a positive impact on species presence: in almost a third of all treatments, 100% of species seeded were growing at first monitoring. However, dryland restoration is risky: 17% of projects failed, with no establishment of any seeded species, and consistent declines were found in seeded species as projects matured. Across projects, higher seeding rates and larger seed sizes resulted in a greater probability of recruitment, with further influences on species success including site aridity, taxonomic identity and species life form. Our findings suggest that investigations examining these predictive factors will yield more effective and informed restoration decision-making.6 month embargo; published: 22 July 2021This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]