Elimination of Gut Microbes with Antibiotics Confers Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Toxin Proteins in Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner)

Helicoverpa armigera is one of the most important pests worldwide. Transgenic crops with toxin genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been deployed on a large scale to control this pest. The insecticidal activity of Bt is probably influenced by the insect midgut microbes, which vary across crop hosts and locations. Therefore, we examined the role of gut microbes in pathogenicity of Bt toxins in the H. armigera. Antibiotic cocktail was used for the complete elimination of the H. armigera gut microbes. Activated Cry1Ac, Bt formulation, and transgenic cotton resulted in larval weight loss and increase in mortality, but pretreatment of larvae with antibiotic cocktail significantly decreased larval mortality and increased the larval weight gain. Activated Cry1Ac and Bt formulation inhibited the activity of proteases in midgut of H. armigera larvae but showed no such effect in the larvae pretreated with antibiotic cocktail. Five protease bands in activated Cry1Ac and two in Bt formulation-treated larvae were inhibited but no such effect in the larvae pretreated with antibiotic cocktail. Cry1Ac protein was detected in Bt/Cry1Ac protoxin-fed larval gut extract in the absence of antibiotic cocktail, but fewer in larvae pretreated with antibiotic cocktail. The activity of antioxidant enzymes and aminopeptidases increased in larvae fed on Bt toxin, but there was no significant increase in antioxidant enzymes in larvae reared on toxin protein in combination with antibiotic cocktail. The results suggest that gut microbes exercise a significant influence on the toxicity of Cry1Ac and Bt formulation in H. armigera larvae. The implications of these results have been discussed in relation to development of insect resistance to Bt transgenic crops deployed for pest management

Influence of bacillus thuringiensis toxins on the development and midgut proteases in different larval instars of helicoverpa armigera

Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is one of the most important pest worldwide. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins have used as a biopesticide or deployed in transgenic plants for controlling this pest. We examined the biological activity of Cry1Ac, Cry1Ab and Bt formulation in different larval instars of H. armigera with respect to larval development and proteolytic activity to pinpoint the most susceptible instar, and the insect response to ingestion of Bt toxins. In the presence of Bt toxins, the larval mortality and weight loss increased in a dose-dependent manner, and the maximum effect was observed in neonates. Active Cry1Ac toxin resulted in greater mortality and weight loss in all the larval instars. Total protease, trypsin and chymotrypsin activities declined in the presence of Bt toxins as compared to the untreated control in all the larval instars. Ten protease isozymes were observed in the untreated control larvae in second, third and fourth instars. Maximum protease isozymes inhibition was observed in Bt toxin fed neonates. Inhibition of protease activity increased with the concentration of Bt toxins. In presence of Bt toxins, aminopeptidase activity increased from II to IV instar and alkaline phosphatase activity decreased from II to III and then increased in IV instar. The pathogenicity of Bt was greater in early larval instars of H. armigera than the later instars, suggesting that application of Bt formulation or deployment of Bt toxins in transgenic plants should be directed against the early larval instars

Comparative Effect of Organics and Biofertilizers on Growth and Yield of Maize (Zea mays. L)

aBStraCt A field experiment to study the "Comparative efficiency of organics and biofertilizers on growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.)" was conducted during Kharif 2011 at farmer field in Beluguli village, Chikkanayakanahalli taluk (Tumkur district). The maize cultivar Nithyashree (NAH 2049) was used in the study. The field experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with fourteen treatments and three replications. Results of the treatment (T 13 ) having recommended dose of NPK + Azotobacter chroococcum + Bacillus megaterium + Pseudomonas fluorescence + enriched compost has showed highest plant height at 30, 60, 90 days after sowing and at harves

Mitochondrial P-Glycoprotein ATPase Contributes to Insecticide Resistance in the Cotton Bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)

Cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is one of the most damaging polyphagous pests worldwide, which has developed high levels of resistance to commonly applied insecticides. Mitochondrial P-glycoprotein (Pgp) was detected in the insecticide-resistant strain of H. armigera using C219 antibodies, and its possible role was demonstrated in the efflux of xenobiotic compounds using spectrofluorometer. The TMR accumulated in mitochondria in the absence of ATP, and effluxed out in presence of ATP; the process of efflux was inhibited in the presence of ortho-vandate, an inhibitor of Pgp, in insecticide-resistant larvae of H. armigera. The mitochondria isolated from insecticide-resistant larvae were resistant to insecticide-induced inhibition of oxygen consumption and cytochrome c release. Membrane potential decreased in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of higher concentration of insecticides (>50 µM) in mitochondria of insecticide-resistant larvae. In conclusion, mitochondrial Pgp ATPase detected in the insecticide-resistant larvae influenced the efflux of xenobiotic compounds. Pgp might be involved in protecting the mitochondrial DNA and the components of the electron transport chain from damage due to insecticides, and contributing to the resistance to the deleterious effects of insecticides on the growth of insecticide-resistant H. armigera larvae

Systems analysis of bioenergetics and growth of the extreme halophile Halobacterium salinarum

Halobacterium salinarum is a bioenergetically flexible, halophilic microorganism that can generate energy by respiration, photosynthesis, and the fermentation of arginine. In a previous study, using a genome-scale metabolic model, we have shown that the archaeon unexpectedly degrades essential amino acids under aerobic conditions, a behavior that can lead to the termination of growth earlier than necessary. Here, we further integratively investigate energy generation, nutrient utilization, and biomass production using an extended methodology that accounts for dynamically changing transport patterns, including those that arise from interactions among the supplied metabolites. Moreover, we widen the scope of our analysis to include phototrophic conditions to explore the interplay between different bioenergetic modes. Surprisingly, we found that cells also degrade essential amino acids even during phototropy, when energy should already be abundant. We also found that under both conditions considerable amounts of nutrients that were taken up were neither incorporated into the biomass nor used as respiratory substrates, implying the considerable production and accumulation of several metabolites in the medium. Some of these are likely the products of forms of overflow metabolism. In addition, our results also show that arginine fermentation, contrary to what is typically assumed, occurs simultaneously with respiration and photosynthesis and can contribute energy in levels that are comparable to the primary bioenergetic modes, if not more. These findings portray a picture that the organism takes an approach toward growth that favors the here and now, even at the cost of longer-term concerns. We believe that the seemingly "greedy" behavior exhibited actually consists of adaptations by the organism to its natural environments, where nutrients are not only irregularly available but may altogether be absent for extended periods that may span several years. Such a setting probably predisposed the cells to grow as much as possible when the conditions become favorable

NMR quality control of fragment libraries for screening

Fragment-based screening has evolved as a remarkable approach within the drug discovery process both in the industry and academia. Fragment screening has become a more structure-based approach to inhibitor development, but also towards development of pathway-specific clinical probes. However, it is often witnessed that the availability, immediate and long-term, of a high quality fragment-screening library is still beyond the reach of most academic laboratories. Within iNEXT (Infrastructure for NMR, EM and X-rays for Translational research), a EU-funded Horizon 2020 program, a collection of 782 fragments were assembled utilizing the concept of "poised fragments" with the aim to facilitate downstream synthesis of ligands with high affinity by fragment ligation. Herein, we describe the analytical procedure to assess the quality of this purchased and assembled fragment library by NMR spectroscopy. This quality assessment requires buffer solubility screening, comparison with LC/MS quality control and is supported by state-of-the-art software for high throughput data acquisition and on-the-fly data analysis. Results from the analysis of the library are presented as a prototype of fragment progression through the quality control process

Metabolism of halophilic archaea

In spite of their common hypersaline environment, halophilic archaea are surprisingly different in their nutritional demands and metabolic pathways. The metabolic diversity of halophilic archaea was investigated at the genomic level through systematic metabolic reconstruction and comparative analysis of four completely sequenced species: Halobacterium salinarum, Haloarcula marismortui, Haloquadratum walsbyi, and the haloalkaliphile Natronomonas pharaonis. The comparative study reveals different sets of enzyme genes amongst halophilic archaea, e.g. in glycerol degradation, pentose metabolism, and folate synthesis. The carefully assessed metabolic data represent a reliable resource for future system biology approaches as it also links to current experimental data on (halo)archaea from the literature

Investigations into a putative role for the novel BRASSIKIN pseudokinases in compatible pollen-stigma interactions in Arabidopsis thaliana.

BACKGROUND: In the Brassicaceae, the early stages of compatible pollen-stigma interactions are tightly controlled with early checkpoints regulating pollen adhesion, hydration and germination, and pollen tube entry into the stigmatic surface. However, the early signalling events in the stigma which trigger these compatible interactions remain unknown. RESULTS: A set of stigma-expressed pseudokinase genes, termed BRASSIKINs (BKNs), were identified and found to be present in only core Brassicaceae genomes. In Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0, BKN1 displayed stigma-specific expression while the BKN2 gene was expressed in other tissues as well. CRISPR deletion mutations were generated for the two tandemly linked BKNs, and very mild hydration defects were observed for wild-type Col-0 pollen when placed on the bkn1/2 mutant stigmas. In further analyses, the predominant transcript for the stigma-specific BKN1 was found to have a premature stop codon in the Col-0 ecotype, but a survey of the 1001 Arabidopsis genomes uncovered three ecotypes that encoded a full-length BKN1 protein. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses identified intact BKN1 orthologues in the closely related outcrossing Arabidopsis species, A. lyrata and A. halleri. Finally, the BKN pseudokinases were found to be plasma-membrane localized through the dual lipid modification of myristoylation and palmitoylation, and this localization would be consistent with a role in signaling complexes. CONCLUSION: In this study, we have characterized the novel Brassicaceae-specific family of BKN pseudokinase genes, and examined the function of BKN1 and BKN2 in the context of pollen-stigma interactions in A. thaliana Col-0. Additionally, premature stop codons were identified in the predicted stigma specific BKN1 gene in a number of the 1001 A. thaliana ecotype genomes, and this was in contrast to the out-crossing Arabidopsis species which carried intact copies of BKN1. Thus, understanding the function of BKN1 in other Brassicaceae species will be a key direction for future studies

Probing Molecular Mechanisms of the Hsp90 Chaperone: Biophysical Modeling Identifies Key Regulators of Functional Dynamics

Deciphering functional mechanisms of the Hsp90 chaperone machinery is an important objective in cancer biology aiming to facilitate discovery of targeted anti-cancer therapies. Despite significant advances in understanding structure and function of molecular chaperones, organizing molecular principles that control the relationship between conformational diversity and functional mechanisms of the Hsp90 activity lack a sufficient quantitative characterization. We combined molecular dynamics simulations, principal component analysis, the energy landscape model and structure-functional analysis of Hsp90 regulatory interactions to systematically investigate functional dynamics of the molecular chaperone. This approach has identified a network of conserved regions common to the Hsp90 chaperones that could play a universal role in coordinating functional dynamics, principal collective motions and allosteric signaling of Hsp90. We have found that these functional motifs may be utilized by the molecular chaperone machinery to act collectively as central regulators of Hsp90 dynamics and activity, including the inter-domain communications, control of ATP hydrolysis, and protein client binding. These findings have provided support to a long-standing assertion that allosteric regulation and catalysis may have emerged via common evolutionary routes. The interaction networks regulating functional motions of Hsp90 may be determined by the inherent structural architecture of the molecular chaperone. At the same time, the thermodynamics-based “conformational selection” of functional states is likely to be activated based on the nature of the binding partner. This mechanistic model of Hsp90 dynamics and function is consistent with the notion that allosteric networks orchestrating cooperative protein motions can be formed by evolutionary conserved and sparsely connected residue clusters. Hence, allosteric signaling through a small network of distantly connected residue clusters may be a rather general functional requirement encoded across molecular chaperones. The obtained insights may be useful in guiding discovery of allosteric Hsp90 inhibitors targeting protein interfaces with co-chaperones and protein binding clients