Metabolic engineering of astaxanthin biosynthesis in maize endosperm and characterization of a prototype high oil hybrid

Maize was genetically engineered for the biosynthesis of the high value carotenoid astaxanthin in the kernel endosperm. Introduction of a β-carotene hydroxylase and a β-carotene ketolase into a white maize genetic background extended the carotenoid pathway to astaxanthin. Simultaneously, phytoene synthase, the controlling enzyme of carotenogenesis, was over-expressed for enhanced carotenoid production and lycopene ε-cyclase was knocked-down to direct more precursors into the β-branch of the extended ketocarotenoid pathway which ends with astaxanthin. This astaxanthin-accumulating transgenic line was crossed into a high oil- maize genotype in order to increase the storage capacity for lipophilic astaxanthin. The high oil astaxanthin hybrid was compared to its astaxanthin producing parent. We report an in depth metabolomic and proteomic analysis which revealed major up- or down- regulation of genes involved in primary metabolism. Specifically, amino acid biosynthesis and the citric acid cycle which compete with the synthesis or utilization of pyruvate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, the precursors for carotenogenesis, were down-regulated. Nevertheless, principal component analysis demonstrated that this compositional change is within the range of the two wild type parents used to generate the high oil producing astaxanthin hybrid

Structural journey of an insecticidal protein against western corn rootworm

The broad adoption of transgenic crops has revolutionized agriculture. However, resistance to insecticidal proteins by agricultural pests poses a continuous challenge to maintaining crop productivity and new proteins are urgently needed to replace those utilized for existing transgenic traits. We identified an insecticidal membrane attack complex/perforin (MACPF) protein, Mpf2Ba1, with strong activity against the devastating coleopteran pest western corn rootworm (WCR) and a novel site of action. Using an integrative structural biology approach, we determined monomeric, pre-pore and pore structures, revealing changes between structural states at high resolution. We discovered an assembly inhibition mechanism, a molecular switch that activates pre-pore oligomerization upon gut fluid incubation and solved the highest resolution MACPF pore structure to-date. Our findings demonstrate not only the utility of Mpf2Ba1 in the development of biotechnology solutions for protecting maize from WCR to promote food security, but also uncover previously unknown mechanistic principles of bacterial MACPF assembly

Measurement of Single Soybean Seed Attributes by Near-Infrared Technologies. A Comparative Study

Four near-infrared spectrophotometers, and their associated spectral collection methods, were tested and compared for measuring three soybean single-seed attributes: weight (g), protein (%), and oil (%). Using partial least-squares (PLS) and four preprocessing methods, the attribute that was significantly most easily predicted was seed weight (RPD > 3 on average) and protein the least. The performance of all instruments differed from each other. Performances for oil and protein predictions were correlated with the instrument sampling system, with the best predictions using spectra taken from more than one seed angle. This was facilitated by the seed spinning or tumbling during spectral collection as opposed to static sampling methods. From the preprocessing methods utilized, no single one gave the best overall performances but weight measurements were often more successful with raw spectra, whereas protein and oil predictions were often enhanced by SNV and SNV + detrending.Posted with permission from Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60 (2012): 8314–8322, doi:10.1021/jf3012807. Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society.</p

Intérêt pronostique de la recherche d'anticorps antiplaquettes au cours du purpura thrombopénique auto-immun de l'adulte (étude rétrospective de 153 cas)

Au cours du Purpura Thrombopénique Auto-Immun (PTAI), le syndrome hémorragique, la réponse au traitement et l évolution (chronique ou aiguë) varient d un patient à l autre sans qu il n'existe de facteurs prédictifs connus. L objectif de notre étude a été d étudier la valeur pronostique de la présence d anticorps (Ac) antiplaquettes au moment du diagnostic d un PTAI. Cette recherche était effectuée par immunofluorescence (IF) et complétée en cas de positivité par une technique d immunocapture MAIPA (monoclonal antibody-specific immobilization of platelet antigen). Cent cinquante trois patients (68% de femmes, âge moyen 49 ans, chiffre médian de plaquettes 11G/L) ont été inclus. Le PTAI a eu une évolution chronique chez 95 (77%) malades. La présence d Ac antiplaquettes détectés par IF chez 112 malades n est corrélée ni à l évolution, ni à la sévérité du syndrome hémorragique, ni à la réponse au traitement. En revanche la présence chez 23 malades d une recherche d'anticorps positive par test MAIPA est associée à une évolution chronique du PTAI dans 94% des cas versus 70% lorsqu'elle est négative (p=0,053), OR ajusté 15,22 (1,31-176,4). Le syndrome hémorragique au moment du diagnostic est plus sévère en cas de recherche d'anticorps positive par test MAIPA [6 (2-11) vs 2 (0-6) p=0,055] y compris après ajustement avec le taux de plaquettes [OR 8,0 (1,61-39,7) p=0,01]. La réponse au traitement n est pas influencée par la positivité de la recherche d'anticorps par test de MAIPA. Notre étude montre que la recherche d Ac antiplaquettes par la technique MAIPA pourrait être prédictive d'une évolution chronique et être associée à une plus grande sévérité du syndrome hémorragique.PARIS6-Bibl.Pitié-Salpêtrie (751132101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF