Can we continue research in splenectomized dogs? Mycoplasma haemocanis: Old problem - New insight

We report the appearance of a Mycoplasma haemocanis infection in laboratory dogs, which has been reported previously, yet, never before in Europe. Outbreak of the disease was triggered by a splenectomy intended to prepare the dogs for a hemorrhagic shock study. The clinical course of the dogs was dramatic including anorexia and hemolytic anemia. Treatment included allogeneic transfusion, prednisone, and oxytetracycline. Systematic follow-up (n=12, blood smears, antibody testing and specific polymerase chain reaction) gives clear evidence that persistent eradication of M. haemocanis is unlikely. We, therefore, had to abandon the intended shock study. In the absence of effective surveillance and screening for M. haemocanis, the question arises whether it is prudent to continue shock research in splenectomized dogs. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

The c4h, tat, hppr and hppd Genes Prompted Engineering of Rosmarinic Acid Biosynthetic Pathway in Salvia miltiorrhiza Hairy Root Cultures

Rational engineering to produce biologically active plant compounds has been greatly impeded by our poor understanding of the regulatory and metabolic pathways underlying the biosynthesis of these compounds. Here we capitalized on our previously described gene-to-metabolite network in order to engineer rosmarinic acid (RA) biosynthesis pathway for the production of beneficial RA and lithospermic acid B (LAB) in Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy root cultures. Results showed their production was greatly elevated by (1) overexpression of single gene, including cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase (c4h), tyrosine aminotransferase (tat), and 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate reductase (hppr), (2) overexpression of both tat and hppr, and (3) suppression of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (hppd). Co-expression of tat/hppr produced the most abundant RA (906 mg/liter) and LAB (992 mg/liter), which were 4.3 and 3.2-fold more than in their wild-type (wt) counterparts respectively. And the value of RA concentration was also higher than that reported before, that produced by means of nutrient medium optimization or elicitor treatment. It is the first report of boosting RA and LAB biosynthesis through genetic manipulation, providing an effective approach for their large-scale commercial production by using hairy root culture systems as bioreactors

A Bacterial Acetyltransferase Destroys Plant Microtubule Networks and Blocks Secretion

The eukaryotic cytoskeleton is essential for structural support and intracellular transport, and is therefore a common target of animal pathogens. However, no phytopathogenic effector has yet been demonstrated to specifically target the plant cytoskeleton. Here we show that the Pseudomonas syringae type III secreted effector HopZ1a interacts with tubulin and polymerized microtubules. We demonstrate that HopZ1a is an acetyltransferase activated by the eukaryotic co-factor phytic acid. Activated HopZ1a acetylates itself and tubulin. The conserved autoacetylation site of the YopJ / HopZ superfamily, K289, plays a critical role in both the avirulence and virulence function of HopZ1a. Furthermore, HopZ1a requires its acetyltransferase activity to cause a dramatic decrease in Arabidopsis thaliana microtubule networks, disrupt the plant secretory pathway and suppress cell wall-mediated defense. Together, this study supports the hypothesis that HopZ1a promotes virulence through cytoskeletal and secretory disruption

The Arabidopsis leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase MIK2/LRR-KISS connects cell wall integrity sensing, root growth and response to abiotic and biotic stresses

Plants actively perceive and respond to perturbations in their cell walls which arise during growth, biotic and abiotic stresses. However, few components involved in plant cell wall integrity sensing have been described to date. Using a reverse-genetic approach, we identified the Arabidopsis thaliana leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase MIK2 as an important regulator of cell wall damage responses triggered upon cellulose biosynthesis inhibition. Indeed, loss-of-function mik2 alleles are strongly affected in immune marker gene expression, jasmonic acid production and lignin deposition. MIK2 has both overlapping and distinct functions with THE1, a malectin-like receptor kinase previously proposed as cell wall integrity sensor. In addition, mik2 mutant plants exhibit enhanced leftward root skewing when grown on vertical plates. Notably, natural variation in MIK2 (also named LRR-KISS) has been correlated recently to mild salt stress tolerance, which we could confirm using our insertional alleles. Strikingly, both the increased root skewing and salt stress sensitivity phenotypes observed in the mik2 mutant are dependent on THE1. Finally, we found that MIK2 is required for resistance to the fungal root pathogen Fusarium oxysporum. Together, our data identify MIK2 as a novel component in cell wall integrity sensing and suggest that MIK2 is a nexus linking cell wall integrity sensing to growth and environmental cues

Octupole excitations in Cs-141,Cs-144 and the pronounced decrease of dipole moments with neutron number in odd-Z neutron-rich Cs-141,Cs-143,Cs-144

The level scheme of odd-Z neutron-rich 141Cs (Z=55, N=86) was extended and expanded and that of 144Cs (N=89) was identified for the first time by means of γ-γ-γ coincidence measurements of prompt γ rays in the spontaneous fission of 252Cf with Gammasphere. Spin/parity was assigned to the levels based on angular correlations and level systematics in 141,143Cs. Parity doublets characteristic of both simplex quantum number s=+i and s=-i were proposed in 141Cs. The tests by using rotational frequency ratio ω-(I)/ω+(I) imply octupole vibrations in 141Cs and 143Cs. B(E1)/B(E2) values and electric dipole moments D0 were calculated for 141Cs, and re-determined for 143Cs. It was found that B(E1)/B(E2) values of 141Cs are simplex-dependent and the average value is one order of magnitude larger than that of 143Cs, and the deduced dipole moment D0 of 141Cs is considerably larger than that of 143Cs, and comparable to the N=86 isotone 142Ba. For 144Cs the yrast sequence looks like a well-deformed rotational band, but no octupole band structure was identified in this nucleus. The overall variations of D0 in 141,143,144Cs exhibit a pronounced drop of dipole moment with increasing neutron number in this odd-Z isotopic chain, which may be analogous in nature to the quenching of D0 observed in even-even 146Ba (Z=56, N=90) and 224Ra (Z=88, N=136), and to the drop of D0 in the odd-Z neutron-rich 147La (Z=57, N=90) reported by our collaboration. © 2010

Dilute solution properties of semiflexible star and ring polymers

Our recent theoretical and/or Monte Carlo (MC) studies of dilute solution properties of semiflexible stars and rings are briefly summarized. The theoretical results for the intrinsic viscosity [η] of the Kratky–Porod (KP) wormlike three- and four-arm stars are shown, and effects of chain stiffness on [η] of the stars are examined. A comparison of the results for [η] with those for the effective hydrodynamic radius and the second virial coefficient A2 in a good solvent was made for the semiflexible three-arm stars. It was found that [η] is the most suitable object of study to examine the effects of chain stiffness on average chain dimensions of the stars. As for the rings, the MC results for A2 of the ideal KP rings, which is related to the intermolecular topological interactions, are presented and then compared with the data in the literature for ring atactic polystyrene (a-PS) at Θ for large molecular weight M (1 × 10[4]−6 × 10[5]). Even for ring a-PS in such a range of M, the effects of chain stiffness were still remarkable. The effects of the intramolecular topological constraints on the mean-square radius of gyration and the scattering function of the KP rings are also discussed