The ORF1 Protein Encoded by LINE-1: Structure and Function During L1 Retrotransposition

LINE-1, or L1 is an autonomous non-LTR retrotransposon in mammals. Retrotransposition requires the function of the two, L1-encoded polypeptides, ORF1p and ORF2p. Early recognition of regions of homology between the predicted amino acid sequence of ORF2 and known endonuclease and reverse transcriptase enzymes led to testable hypotheses regarding the function of ORF2p in retrotransposition. As predicted, ORF2p has been demonstrated to have both endonuclease and reverse transcriptase activities. In contrast, no homologs of known function have contributed to our understanding of the function of ORF1p during retrotransposition. Nevertheless, significant advances have been made such that we now know that ORF1p is a high affinity RNA binding protein that forms a ribonucleoprotein particle together with L1 RNA. Furthermore, ORF1p is a nucleic acid chaperone and this nucleic acid chaperone activity is required for L1 retrotransposition

Cell division promotes efficient retrotransposition in a stable L1 reporter cell line

Background: Long interspersed element type one (L1) actively modifies the human genome by inserting new copies of itself. This process, termed retrotransposition, requires the formation of an L1 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex, which must enter the nucleus before retrotransposition can proceed. Thus, the nuclear import of L1 RNP presents an opportunity for cells to regulate L1 retrotransposition post-translationally. The effect of cell division on L1 retrotransposition has been investigated by two previous studies, which observed varied degrees of inhibition in retrotransposition when primary cell strains or cancer cell lines were experimentally arrested in different stages of the cell cycle. However, seemingly divergent conclusions were reached. The role of cell division on retrotransposition remains highly debated. Findings: To monitor both L1 expression and retrotransposition quantitatively, we developed a stable dual-luciferase L1 reporter cell line, in which a bi-directional tetracycline-inducible promoter drives the expression of both a firefly luciferase-tagged L1 element and a Renilla luciferase, the latter indicative of the level of promoter induction. We observed an additional 10-fold reduction in retrotransposition in cell-cycle arrested cells even after retrotransposition had been normalized to Renilla luciferase or L1 ORF1 protein levels. In synchronized cells, cells undergoing two mitoses showed 2.6-fold higher retrotransposition than those undergoing one mitosis although L1 expression was induced for the same amount of time. Conclusions: Our data provide additional support for an important role of cell division in retrotransposition and argue that restricting the accessibility of L1 RNP to nuclear DNA could be a post-translational regulatory mechanism for retrotransposition

40S ribosome biogenesis co-factors are essential for gametophyte and embryo development

Ribosome biogenesis is well described in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In contrast only very little information is available on this pathway in plants. This study presents the characterization of five putative protein co-factors of ribosome biogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana, namely Rrp5, Pwp2, Nob1, Enp1 and Noc4. The characterization of the proteins in respect to localization, enzymatic activity and association with pre-ribosomal complexes is shown. Additionally, analyses of T-DNA insertion mutants aimed to reveal an involvement of the plant co-factors in ribosome biogenesis. The investigated proteins localize mainly to the nucleolus or the nucleus, and atEnp1 and atNob1 co-migrate with 40S pre-ribosomal complexes. The analysis of T-DNA insertion lines revealed that all proteins are essential in Arabidopsis thaliana and mutant plants show alterations of rRNA intermediate abundance already in the heterozygous state. The most significant alteration was observed in the NOB1 T-DNA insertion line where the P-A3 fragment, a 23S-like rRNA precursor, accumulated. The transmission of the T-DNA through the male and female gametophyte was strongly inhibited indicating a high importance of ribosome co-factor genes in the haploid stages of plant development. Additionally impaired embryogenesis was observed in some mutant plant lines. All results support an involvement of the analyzed proteins in ribosome biogenesis but differences in rRNA processing, gametophyte and embryo development suggested an alternative regulation in plants

First record of Helobdella hyalina (Hirudinea; Glossiphoniidae) in the mantle cavity of Planorbidae from lentic environments in a Buenos Aires province, Argentina

Biomphalaria peregrina (D’Orbigny, 1835) and Drepanotrema kermatoides (D’Orbigny, 1835) were first reported as hosts of Helobdella hyalina Ringuelet, 1942. Both are important species from the Río de La Plata river basin in Argentina. They are associated with macrophytes of lentic or semilentic environments. They are more frequently observed in semipermanent low-depth environments with vegetation and abundant organic matter (Bonetto et al., 1990).\n(Párrafo extraído del texto a modo de resumen)</i

Argamassas térmicas à base de cal

Actualmente, as preocupações com o consumo energético dos edifícios são cada vez maiores. Surgindo desta forma, a necessidade de incorporação de materiais em produtos de construção que visem a melhoria da eficiência energética dos edifícios. Portanto, a utilização de materiais de mudança de fase surge como uma possível solução para tentar solucionar, ou pelo menos minimizar, os enormes consumos energéticos associados aos edifícios. Este estudo visa o conhecimento da influência da incorporação de microcápsulas de materiais de mudança de fase (PCM) em argamassas à base de cal, devendo estas possuir um compromisso entre a trabalhabilidade, resistência mecânica e aparência estética

Properties of lime based thermal mortars

[Excerpt] Nowadays, major part of residential buildings electricity consumption is used for space heating and cooling, varying greatly during day and night and leading to differentiate tariffs. The shift, to off-peak periods, of this consumption presents a clear economical advantage and it can be achieved through energy thermal storage. Latent heat thermal energy storage, through the incorporation of PCM, presents the following advantages: narrow the gap between the peak and off-peak loads, levelling the electricity demand, decreasing the load on the network and eventual supply failure; reduce operation costs by shifting the electrical consumption from peak periods to off-peak periods; contribute to the interior thermal comfort in buildings, by using and storing solar energy (for space heating in winter) and storing natural cooling by ventilation at night during the summer, thus reducing electricity use for heating and cooling [1,2].The benefits to the comfort inside buildings appear during the change of the PCM. The transferences of energy that occur during the transitions solid-liquid and liquid-solid are generally the most used to help the acclimatization of the building. For that reason the PCM must be microencapsulated. The exterior of the microcapsules is made with a polymer [1,2]

Deformation of micrometer and mm-sized Fe2.4wt.%Si single- and bi-crystals with a high angle grain boundary at room temperature

Plasticity in body-centred cubic (BCC) metals, including dislocation interactions at grain boundaries, is much less understood than in face-centred cubic (FCC) metals. At low temperatures additional resistance to dislocation motion due to the Peierls barrier becomes important, which increases the complexity of plasticity. Iron-silicon steel is an interesting, model BCC material since the evolution of the dislocation structure in specifically-oriented grains and at particular grain boundaries have far-reaching effects not only on the deformation behaviour but also on the magnetic properties, which are important in its final application as electrical steel. In this study, two different orientations of micropillars (1, 2, 4 microns in diameter) and macropillars (2500 microns) and their corresponding bi crystals are analysed after compression experiments with respect to the effect of size on strength and dislocation structures. Using different experimental methods, such as slip trace analysis, plane tilt analysis and cross-sectional EBSD, we show that direct slip transmission occurs, and different slip systems are active in the bi-crystals compared to their single-crystal counterparts. However, in spite of direct transmission and a very high transmission factor, dislocation pile-up at the grain boundary is also observed at early stages of deformation. Moreover, an effect of size scaling with the pillar size in single crystals and the grain size in bi-crystals is found, which is consistent with investigations elsewhere in FCC metals