Mechanism of Fatty-Acid-Dependent UCP1 Uncoupling in Brown Fat Mitochondria

SummaryMitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is responsible for nonshivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT). Upon activation by long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs), UCP1 increases the conductance of the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) to make BAT mitochondria generate heat rather than ATP. Despite being a member of the family of mitochondrial anion carriers (SLC25), UCP1 is believed to transport H+ by an unusual mechanism that has long remained unresolved. Here, we achieved direct patch-clamp measurements of UCP1 currents from the IMM of BAT mitochondria. We show that UCP1 is an LCFA anion/H+ symporter. However, the LCFA anions cannot dissociate from UCP1 due to hydrophobic interactions established by their hydrophobic tails, and UCP1 effectively operates as an H+ carrier activated by LCFA. A similar LCFA-dependent mechanism of transmembrane H+ transport may be employed by other SLC25 members and be responsible for mitochondrial uncoupling and regulation of metabolic efficiency in various tissues

SimReg1 is a master switch for biosynthesis and export of simocyclinone D8 and its precursors

Analysis of the simocyclinone biosynthesis (sim) gene cluster of Streptomyces antibioticus Tü6040 led to the identification of a putative pathway specific regulatory gene simReg1. In silico analysis places the SimReg1 protein in the OmpR-PhoB subfamily of response regulators. Gene replacement of simReg1 from the S. antibioticus chromosome completely abolishes simocyclinone production indicating that SimReg1 is a key regulator of simocyclinone biosynthesis. Results of the DNA-shift assays and reporter gene expression analysis are consistent with the idea that SimReg1 activates transcription of simocyclinone biosynthesis, transporter genes, regulatory gene simReg3 and his own transcription. The presence of extracts (simocyclinone) from S. antibioticus Tü6040 × pSSimR1-1 could dissociate SimReg1 from promoter regions. A preliminary model for regulation of simocyclinone biosynthesis and export is discussed

Research of the Motivational Component of Professional Activity of Employees of the Security and Defense Sector

The paper presents a study of the characteristics of the professional motivation of security and defense workers and reveals the relationship between motivation and individual psychological qualities and people's attitudes to various aspects of reality in police officers and servicemen. The logical relationship of correlations between work motivators and personality qualities and the attitude of servicemen and police officers to various aspects of reality is found, which will help the leader (psychologist) to increase efficiency. The article says that adequate and timely stimulation of activities based on personal qualities and attitudes to various aspects of the life of security and defense workers will prevent negative factors (development of emotional burnout, deviant behavior, negative mental states, etc.) and successfully correct them. The article aims to study the statistical motivation of security and defense workers and determine the relationship between motivation and individual psychological qualities and people's attitudes to various aspects of reality in police officers and servicemen

H+ transport is an integral function of the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier.

The mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) is a major transport protein of the inner mitochondrial membrane. It exchanges mitochondrial ATP for cytosolic ADP and controls cellular production of ATP. In addition, it has been proposed that AAC mediates mitochondrial uncoupling, but it has proven difficult to demonstrate this function or to elucidate its mechanisms. Here we record AAC currents directly from inner mitochondrial membranes from various mouse tissues and identify two distinct transport modes: ADP/ATP exchange and H+ transport. The AAC-mediated H+ current requires free fatty acids and resembles the H+ leak via the thermogenic uncoupling protein 1 found in brown fat. The ADP/ATP exchange via AAC negatively regulates the H+ leak, but does not completely inhibit it. This suggests that the H+ leak and mitochondrial uncoupling could be dynamically controlled by cellular ATP demand and the rate of ADP/ATP exchange. By mediating two distinct transport modes, ADP/ATP exchange and H+ leak, AAC connects coupled (ATP production) and uncoupled (thermogenesis) energy conversion in mitochondria

Pleiotropic regulatory genes bldA, adpA and absB are implicated in production of phosphoglycolipid antibiotic moenomycin

Unlike the majority of actinomycete secondary metabolic pathways, the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase inhibitor moenomycin in Streptomyces ghanaensis does not involve any cluster-situated regulators (CSRs). This raises questions about the regulatory signals that initiate and sustain moenomycin production. We now show that three pleiotropic regulatory genes for Streptomyces morphogenesis and antibiotic production—bldA, adpA and absB—exert multi-layered control over moenomycin biosynthesis in native and heterologous producers. The bldA gene for tRNALeuUAA is required for the translation of rare UUA codons within two key moenomycin biosynthetic genes (moe), moeO5 and moeE5. It also indirectly influences moenomycin production by controlling the translation of the UUA-containing adpA and, probably, other as-yet-unknown repressor gene(s). AdpA binds key moe promoters and activates them. Furthermore, AdpA interacts with the bldA promoter, thus impacting translation of bldA-dependent mRNAs—that of adpA and several moe genes. Both adpA expression and moenomycin production are increased in an absB-deficient background, most probably because AbsB normally limits adpA mRNA abundance through ribonucleolytic cleavage. Our work highlights an underappreciated strategy for secondary metabolism regulation, in which the interaction between structural genes and pleiotropic regulators is not mediated by CSRs. This strategy might be relevant for a growing number of CSR-free gene clusters unearthed during actinomycete genome mining

Properties of Multidrug-Resistant Mutants Derived from Heterologous Expression Chassis Strain Streptomyces albidoflavus J1074

Streptomyces albidoflavus J1074 is a popular platform to discover novel natural products via the expression of heterologous biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). There is keen interest in improving the ability of this platform to overexpress BGCs and, consequently, enable the purification of specialized metabolites. Mutations within gene rpoB for the β-subunit of RNA polymerase are known to increase rifampicin resistance and augment the metabolic capabilities of streptomycetes. Yet, the effects of rpoB mutations on J1074 remained unstudied, and we decided to address this issue. A target collection of strains that we studied carried spontaneous rpoB mutations introduced in the background of the other drug resistance mutations. The antibiotic resistance spectra, growth, and specialized metabolism of the resulting mutants were interrogated using a set of microbiological and analytical approaches. We isolated 14 different rpoB mutants showing various degrees of rifampicin resistance; one of them (S433W) was isolated for the first time in actinomycetes. The rpoB mutations had a major effect on antibiotic production by J1074, as evident from bioassays and LC-MS data. Our data support the idea that rpoB mutations are useful tools to enhance the ability of J1074 to produce specialized metabolites

Oleamycins A and B : new antibacterial cyclic hexadepsipeptides isolated from a terrestrial Streptomyces sp.

Actinomycetes have been a source for anti-infectives for more than 50 years, and continue to have a very important role as the source organisms for the discovery of new antibiotics. In the course of our screening program for the discovery of new antibacterial compounds, one such strain (Lv20-58), recovered from the root zone of the plant 0/caceae europea came to our attention

Lorneic acids C and D, new trialkyl-substituted aromatic acids isolated from a terrestrial Streptomyces sp.

Our ongoing research into the chemical diversity of terrestrial actinomycetes associated with the plant rhizosphere has led to the discovery of rare metabolites, such as leopolic acid A1 and juniperolide A,2 which were isolated from Streptomyces sp. cultured from the rhizosphere of the plant Juniperus excelsa

Albaflavenol B, a new sesquiterpene isolated from the terrestrial actinomycete, Streptomyces sp.

Secondary metabolites from plant-associated actinomycetes are increasingly attracting attention, with the recent identification of new secondary metabolites, juniperolide A,1 lorneic acids,2 leopolic acid3 and oleaceran.4 As part of our ongoing campaign to focus natural products discovery on this source, we have isolated and characterized a new sequiterpene, alblaflavenol B (1)