Modulation of defense signal transduction by flagellin-induced WRKY41 transcription factor in Arabidopsis thaliana

Flagellin, a component of the flagellar filament of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 (Pta), induces hypersensitive reaction in its non-host Arabidopsis thaliana. We identified the WRKY41 gene, which belongs to a multigene family encoding WRKY plant-specific transcription factors, as one of the flagellin-inducible genes in A. thaliana. Expression of WRKY41 is induced by inoculation with the incompatible pathogen P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pto) possessing AvrRpt2 and the non-host pathogens Pta within 6-h after inoculation, but not by inoculation with the compatible Pto. Expression of WRKY41 was also induced by inoculation of A. thaliana with an hrp-type three secretion system (T3SS)-defective mutant of Pto, indicating that effectors produced by T3SS in the Pto wild-type suppress the activation of WRKY41. Arabidopsis overexpressing WRKY41 showed enhanced resistance to the Pto wild-type but increased susceptibility to Erwinia carotovora EC1. WRKY41-overexpressing Arabidopsis constitutively expresses the PR5 gene, but suppresses the methyl jasmonate-induced PDF1.2 gene expression. These results demonstrate that WRKY41 may be a key regulator in the cross talk of salicylic acid and jasmonic acid pathways.</p

Faithful chaperones

This review describes the properties of some rare eukaryotic chaperones that each assist in the folding of only one target protein. In particular, we describe (1) the tubulin cofactors, (2) p47, which assists in the folding of collagen, (3) α-hemoglobin stabilizing protein (AHSP), (4) the adenovirus L4-100 K protein, which is a chaperone of the major structural viral protein, hexon, and (5) HYPK, the huntingtin-interacting protein. These various-sized proteins (102–1,190 amino acids long) are all involved in the folding of oligomeric polypeptides but are otherwise functionally unique, as they each assist only one particular client. This raises a question regarding the biosynthetic cost of the high-level production of such chaperones. As the clients of faithful chaperones are all abundant proteins that are essential cellular or viral components, it is conceivable that this necessary metabolic expenditure withstood evolutionary pressure to minimize biosynthetic costs. Nevertheless, the complexity of the folding pathways in which these chaperones are involved results in error-prone processes. Several human disorders associated with these chaperones are discussed

Sulfide Catabolism Ameliorates Hypoxic Brain Injury

The mammalian brain is highly vulnerable to oxygen deprivation, yet the mechanism underlying the brain’s sensitivity to hypoxia is incompletely understood. Hypoxia induces accumulation of hydrogen sulfide, a gas that inhibits mitochondrial respiration. Here, we show that, in mice, rats, and naturally hypoxia-tolerant ground squirrels, the sensitivity of the brain to hypoxia is inversely related to the levels of sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (SQOR) and the capacity to catabolize sulfide. Silencing SQOR increased the sensitivity of the brain to hypoxia, whereas neuron-specific SQOR expression prevented hypoxia-induced sulfide accumulation, bioenergetic failure, and ischemic brain injury. Excluding SQOR from mitochondria increased sensitivity to hypoxia not only in the brain but also in heart and liver. Pharmacological scavenging of sulfide maintained mitochondrial respiration in hypoxic neurons and made mice resistant to hypoxia. These results illuminate the critical role of sulfide catabolism in energy homeostasis during hypoxia and identify a therapeutic target for ischemic brain injury

Meiose e viabilidade polínica na família Araceae Meiosis and pollen viability in Araceae family

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a microsporogênese e a viabilidade dos grãos de pólen em 17 espécies de aráceas coletadas no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Nove espécies foram analisadas quanto à ocorrência de células mãe de pólen (CMP) normais e anormais nas fases de metáfase, anáfase e telófase, tanto da meiose I (M I) como da meiose II (M II); 10 espécies foram estudadas quanto à presença de tétrades com número normal ou anormal de micrósporos e 17 espécies quanto à viabilidade dos grãos de pólen. As CMP anormais apresentaram, tanto em M I quanto em M II, cromossomos fora da placa metafásica ou cromossomos retardatários em anáfase e/ou telófase. As freqüências de CMP normais/anormais encontradas na microsporogênese salientam a grande variação existente entre as espécies. Ressalta-se a ausência de CMP com anomalias na microsporogênese de Monstera deliciosa Adans., assim como em M I de Anthurium scandens (Aubl) Engl. e em M II de Caladium hortulanum Birdsey. O número observado de CMP anômalas, em M I e M II, nas espécies Syngonium podophyllum Schott e Zantedeschia aethiopica Spreng, foi maior que o esperado. A freqüência média de tétrades normais em dez espécies de aráceas, assim como a de grãos de pólen viáveis em 17 espécies, foi significativamente superior à freqüência média de anormais e de inviáveis, respectivamente.<br>The objective of this work was to analyze microsporogenesis and pollen viability in 17 species of the Araceae family collected at Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Occurrence of normal and abnormal pollen mother cells (PMC) was analyzed in metaphase, anaphase and telophase, in meiosis I (M I) and meiosis II (M II) of nine species; tetrads with normal or abnormal number of microspores was observed in 10 species, and pollen grain viability, in 17 species. Abnormal PMC presented chromosomes outside the metaphasic plate or laggard chromosomes in anaphase and/or telophase in both M I and M II. The frequencies of normal/abnormal PMC found in microsporogenesis point out to the existence of great variation among the species. It should be emphasized the absence of PMC with abnormalities in Monstera deliciosa Adans. microsporogenesis, as well as in Anthurium scandens (Aubl) Engl. M I and in Caladium hortulanum Birdsey M II. The number of anomalous PMC in Syngonium podophyllum Schott and Zantedeschia aethiopica Spreng in M I and M IIwas higher than expected. Average frequency of normal tetrads in ten araceous species and viable pollen grains in 17 species were significantly superior to the average frequency of abnormal tetrads and unviable pollen grains, respectively

Ultraslow oligomerization equilibria of p53 and its implications

The tumor suppressor p53 is in equilibrium at cellular concentrations between dimers and tetramers. Oncogenic mutant p53 (mut) exerts a dominant-negative effect on co-expression of p53 wild-type (wt) and mut alleles in cancer cells. It is believed that wt and mut form hetero-tetramers of attenuated activity, via their tetramerization domains. Using electrospray mass spectrometry on isotopically labeled samples, we measured directly the composition and rates of formation of p53 complexes in the presence and absence of response element DNA. The dissociation of tetramers was unexpectedly very slow (t1/2 = 40 min) at 37 °C, matched by slow association of dimers, which is approximately four times longer than the half-life of spontaneous denaturation of wt p53. On mixing wt tetramers with the oncogenic contact mutant R273H of low DNA affinity, we observed the same slow formation of only wt4, wt2mut2, and mut4, in the ratio 1:2:1, on a cellular time scale. On mixing wt and mut with response element DNAs P21 and BAX, we observed only the complexes wt4.DNA, wt2mut2.DNA, and mut4.DNA, with relative dissociation constants 1:4:71 and 1:13:85, respectively, accounting for the dominant-negative effect by weakened affinity. p53 dimers assemble rapidly to tetramers on binding to response element DNA, initiated by the p53 DNA binding domains. The slow oligomerization of free p53, competing with spontaneous denaturation, has implications for the possible regulation of p53 by binding proteins and DNA that affect tetramerization kinetics as well as equilibria