Transcriptomic analysis of the late stages of grapevine (Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) berry ripening reveals significant induction of ethylene signaling and flavor pathways in the skin

Background: Grapevine berry, a nonclimacteric fruit, has three developmental stages; the last one is when berrycolor and sugar increase. Flavors derived from terpenoid and fatty acid metabolism develop at the very end of thisripening stage. The transcriptomic response of pulp and skin of Cabernet Sauvignon berries in the late stages ofripening between 22 and 37 \ub0Brix was assessed using whole-genome micorarrays.Results: The transcript abundance of approximately 18,000 genes changed with \ub0Brix and tissue type. There were alarge number of changes in many gene ontology (GO) categories involving metabolism, signaling and abioticstress. GO categories reflecting tissue differences were overrepresented in photosynthesis, isoprenoid metabolismand pigment biosynthesis. Detailed analysis of the interaction of the skin and pulp with \ub0Brix revealed that therewere statistically significantly higher abundances of transcripts changing with \ub0Brix in the skin that were involved inethylene signaling, isoprenoid and fatty acid metabolism. Many transcripts were peaking around known optimalfruit stages for flavor production. The transcript abundance of approximately two-thirds of the AP2/ERF superfamilyof transcription factors changed during these developmental stages. The transcript abundance of a unique clade ofERF6-type transcription factors had the largest changes in the skin and clustered with genes involved in ethylene,senescence, and fruit flavor production including ACC oxidase, terpene synthases, and lipoxygenases. The transcriptabundance of important transcription factors involved in fruit ripening was also higher in the skin.Conclusions: A detailed analysis of the transcriptome dynamics during late stages of ripening of grapevine berriesrevealed that these berries went through massive transcriptional changes in gene ontology categories involvingchemical signaling and metabolism in both the pulp and skin, particularly in the skin. Changes in the transcriptabundance of genes involved in the ethylene signaling pathway of this nonclimacteric fruit were statisticallysignificant in the late stages of ripening when the production of transcripts for important flavor and aroma compoundswere at their highest. Ethylene transcription factors known to play a role in leaf senescence also appear to play a role infruit senescence. Ethylene may play a bigger role than previously thought in this non-climacteric fruit

Inhibition of N-linked oligosaccharide processing does not prevent the secretion of thyroglobulin. A study with swainsonine and deoxynojirimycin.

International audienceThe effects of two drugs, swainsonine (SW) and deoxynojirimycin (dNM), on synthesis and export of thyroglobulin were studied in folliculized porcine thyroid cells cultured in a serum-free medium. These drugs were expected to alter N-linked glycans in thyroglobulin. Newly synthesized thyroglobulin labeled with [2-3H]mannose or [4,5-3H]leucine was obtained by immunoprecipitation from the follicular contents, culture media and cell extracts; the first two compartments, containing secreted thyroglobulin, were sometimes analyzed together. Leucine incorporation was not inhibited by SW and only slightly by dNM. In contrast dNM strongly decreased mannose incorporation (by up to 50-75% at 1-3 mM). However after 16-h mannose labelings, SW and/or dNM at 2.5 microM and 3 mM respectively did not significantly modify the relative proportions of radioactive thyroglobulin in the above-mentioned compartments. Pronase glycopeptides prepared from these thyroglobulins were examined with respect to behaviour on concanavalin-A-Sepharose and position on Bio-Gel P-4. Oligosaccharides released by endoglucosaminidase H and with high affinity for the lectin, i.e. high-mannose and certain hybrids, were further characterized by various exoglycosidase treatments. Thyroglobulin from control cells displayed complex and high-mannose glycans comparable in size and proportion to those attributed to tissue-extracted porcine thyroglobulin. After treatment with SW (an inhibitor of alpha-mannosidase II), complex glycans were almost totally replaced by sialylated hybrid glycans. In contrast to this nearly total suppression, dNM (an inhibitor of the trimming glucosidases) caused only a 30% decrease in labeling of complex units and an about 50% increase in high-mannose glycans, covered to some degree by glucose. Finally a [3H]leucine pulse-chase study was performed on thyroglobulin secretion in the absence or presence of both SW and dNM. Though a slowdown was detectable in the first few hours, this study revealed no change in the long-term export of thyroglobulin

Thyrotropin increases 5'-nucleotidase activity in primary cultures of porcine thyroid cells.

International audienceThyrotropin given to support-anchored cultures of porcine thyroid cells, either in a serum-containing or in a serum-free system, produced an increase of about 50% in the total activity of 5'-nucleotidase. In the serum-free culture, in which TSH was administered to well-reformed follicles, this increase in 5'-nucleotidase activity concerns both the ecto-enzymic and intracellular forms of the enzyme and it coincides with the period of several days during which several glycosyltransferase activities are elevated and thyroglobulin production increased. Taken together, and in view of a recent in vitro study (Brandan and Fleisher, 1982) documenting the fate of uridine diphosphate in Golgi vesicles, these results suggest that there might be a functional correlation between the stimulation of 5'-nucleotidase and an increased production of nucleoside mono- and diphosphates when the activity of a number of glycosyltransferases is increased

Finite Element Modeling and Optimization of Tube-Shaped Ultrasonic Motors

SPIE - The International Society for Optical EngineeringSmart Structures and Materials 2003: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems -- 3 March 2003 through 6 March 2003 -- San Diego, CA -- 61916Recent developments in ultrasonic motor design have demonstrated that small size tube-shaped motors could be fabricated at low cost. Motors with diameters between 15 and 2.5mm have been fabricated and tested. The performance evaluation of these motors is still in progress, but have already shown promising results: the smallest ones exhibit no-load speeds in the range of 70rad/s and blocked torques close to 0.9mN·m. In this paper, we review the operating principle of these devices and several implementation examples. Then, we show how the finite element method (ATILA) can be used, in combination with genetic optimization procedures, to design tube-shaped motors in various dimensions and for different performance objectives. Several design examples are presented and discussed

Responsiveness of glycosyltransferases to thyrotropin in a serum-free culture of porcine thyroid cells.

International audienceAdministration of thyrotropin to porcine thyroid follicles, obtained in a serum-free chemically defined medium, provoked marked increases in the activities of several glycosyltransferases involved in protein N-glycosylation. The coincidence of these effects with a previously demonstrated enhancement of thyroglobulin production renders a relationship between these events likely. The most important stimulation was for peptide oligosaccharyltransferase (3-fold). Among the enzymes involved in the synthesis of the lipid oligosaccharide donor, Dol-P glycosyl- and mannosyltransferases were increased 1.5-fold, and Dol-P N-acetylglucosaminylphosphotransferase only 1.15-fold. As regards terminal glycosyltransferases, asialofetuin sialyltransferase was increased 2-fold and ovomucoid galactosyltransferase only 1.2-fold. There was a continuous release of the latter two enzymes into the culture medium