Rice endosperm is cost-effective for the production of recombinant griffithsin with potent activity against HIV

Protein microbicides containing neutralizing antibodies and antiviral lectins may help to reduce the rate of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) if it is possible to manufacture the components in large quantities at a cost affordable in HIV‐endemic regions such as sub‐Saharan Africa. We expressed the antiviral lectin griffithsin (GRFT), which shows potent neutralizing activity against HIV, in the endosperm of transgenic rice plants (Oryza sativa), to determine whether rice can be used to produce inexpensive GRFT as a microbicide ingredient. The yield of (OS)GRFT in the best‐performing plants was 223 μg/g dry seed weight. We also established a one‐step purification protocol, achieving a recovery of 74% and a purity of 80%, which potentially could be developed into a larger‐scale process to facilitate inexpensive downstream processing. (OS)GRFT bound to HIV glycans with similar efficiency to GRFT produced in Escherichia coli. Whole‐cell assays using purified (OS)GRFT and infectivity assays using crude extracts of transgenic rice endosperm confirmed that both crude and pure (OS)GRFT showed potent activity against HIV and the crude extracts were not toxic towards human cell lines, suggesting they could be administered as a microbicide with only minimal processing. A freedom‐to‐operate analysis confirmed that GRFT produced in rice is suitable for commercial development, and an economic evaluation suggested that 1.8 kg/ha of pure GRFT could be produced from rice seeds. Our data therefore indicate that rice could be developed as an inexpensive production platform for GRFT as a microbicide component

The Mesohellenic trough and the Thrace Basin. Two Tertiary molassic Basins in Hellenides: do they really correlate?

Με βάση τη λιθοστρωματογραφία, την τεκτονική ανάλυση και τη γεωλογική χαρτο- γράφηση συγκρίθηκαν μεταξύ τους, οι μολασσικές λεκάνες της Θράκης (ThB) στη ΒΑ Ελλάδα (συμπεριλαμβάνονται οι Παλαιογενείς αποθέσεις της λεκάνης Αξιού) και της Μεσοελληνικής Αύλακας. Αμφότερες οι λεκάνες χαρακτηρίζονται από μια παχειά, μολασσικού-τύπου ιζηματογενή ακολουθία (3-5 km πάχος) Τριτογενούς ηλικίας, που καλύπτεται ασύμφωνα από Νεογενή και Τεταρτογενή ιζήματα. Η μολασσκή ιζηματογένεση αρχίζει σχεδόν ταυτόχρονα και στις δύο περιοχές κατά τη διάρκεια του Μέσου- Άνω Ηωκαίνου όμως σταματάει σε διαφορετικούς χρόνους, στο Μέσο-Άνω Μειόκαινο για τη ΜΗΤ και στο Άνω Ολιγόκαινο για τη ThB. Η ιζηματογένεση στη ThB συνοδεύτηκε επί πλέον από έναν ασβεσταλκαλικής και τοπικά σωσωνιτικής σύστασης μαγματισμό, Ηωκαινικής-Ολιγοκαινικής ηλικίας. Ερμηνεύσαμε τη ΜΗΤ ως μια πολυιστορική οριζόντιας μετατόπισης, piggy-back λεκάνη, που αποτέθηκε επάνω σε οφιόλιθους και στο Πελαγονικό κάλυμμα κατά την προς τα δυτικά τοποθέτησή τους πάνω στο κρύο πρίσμα επαύξησης των Ελληνίδων. Αντίθετα, η ThB αναπτύχθηκε ως μια Παλαιογενή λεκάνη, πάνω σε ρήγμα διαφυγής και στις γεωλογικές ενότητες των εσωτερικών Ελληνίδων, κατά τη διάρκεια της Ηωκαινικής-Ολιγοκαινικής έκτασης των Εσωτερικών Ελληνίδων. Ο σύγχρονος με την ιζηματογένεση μαγματισμός, πιθανόν, συνδέεται με τις ορογενετικές διαδικασίες υποβύθισης του ωκεανού της Πίνδου ή του Αξιού. Σε κάθε περίπτωση ΜΗΤ και ThB αναπτύχθηκαν κατά τη διάρκεια πλάγιας σύγκλισης της Απουλίας πλάκας και των Εσωτερικών Ελληνίδων.Based on lithostratigraphic and structural data, as well as geological mapping, the mollasic Thrace Basin (ThB) in NE Greece (including the Paleogene deposits of the Axios Basin) was compared with the Mesohellenic Trough (MHT) in NW Greece. Both basins are characterized by a thick sedimentary sequence of molassic-type strata (3-5km thickness) of Tertiary age, overlain unconformably by Miocene- Pliocene and Quaternary deposits. Molassic sedimentation started almost simultaneously in both areas during the Mid-Upper Eocene but it finished in different time, in the Mid-Upper Miocene for the MHT and the Upper Oligocene for the ThB, respectively. Sedimentation in ThB was also linked with an important calc-alkaline and locally shoshonitic magmatism of Eocene-Oligocene age. We interpreted the MHT as a polyhistory strike-slip and piggy-back basin, above westward-emplacing ophiolites and Pelagonian units on the cold Hellenic accretionary prism. In contrast to MHT, the ThB evolved as a Paleogene supra-detachment basin above the strongly extended during the Eocene-Oligocene Hellenic Hinterland. The syn-depositional magmatic products, linked possibly with subduction processes in Pindos or Axios ocean(s). In any case, MHT and ThB are related to inferred oblique convergence of the Apulia plate and the internal Hellenic units

Fission track data from the Mesohellenic Trough and the Pelagonian zone in NW Greece: Cenozoic tectonics and exhumation of source areas.

The Mesohellenic Trough (MHT) trends parallel to the structural fabric of the Hellenides and covers the suture between the Apulian microplate and the Pelagonian block. It comprises an up to ∼4 km thick middle Eocene to upper Miocene sedimentary sequence. We have studied the thermal history of the Pelagonian basement and the provenance of the detrital material in the clastic sediments of the MHT by fission track dating. Apatite and zircon fission track (AFT, ZFT) analysis is applied to samples from the Pelagonian microcontinent along the eastern border of the MHT, and AFT analysis to the sedimentary rocks in the southern MHT. Eocene AFT age populations in the sedimentary strata indicate a proximal position of the Pelagonian microcontinent, which shows the same or even younger AFT ages, as the source area of the detrital material in the MHT. Late Cretaceous to Palaeocene age populations point to a more distant or structurally higher (now eroded) source area. The Eocene orogenic event caused only weak thermal overprinting in rocks of the Pelagonian microcontinent.In its eastern part, the AFT ages show only partial resetting, if any, whereas in its western part the ages were clearly reset during the Eocene event. AFT age-elevation relations, correlation of zircon and apatite FT ages from the same samples, and thermal modelling based on AFT ages and track length distributions were all used to reconstruct the low-temperature cooling history of the Pelagonian basement adjacent to the MHT. The results document fast cooling and exhumation in the Eocene that were possibly related to thrusting and associated erosion, followed by slow cooling and exhumation during Oligocene and Miocene time. This scenario is confirmed by the AFT data from the detrital material in the MHT sedimentary strata. The slow cooling period coincides with a stagnation period or crustal extension and possible reheating, which is probably also responsible for the partial rejuvenation of the ages of the detrital apatites in the oldest (Eocene) formation in the sediment sequence of the MHT

Downregulation of the CpSRP43 gene expression confers a truncated light-harvesting antenna (TLA) and enhances biomass and leaf-to-stem ratio in Nicotiana tabacum canopies.

Main conclusionDownregulation in the expression of the signal recognition particle 43 (SRP43) gene in tobacco conferred a truncated photosynthetic light-harvesting antenna (TLA property), and resulted in plants with a greater leaf-to-stem ratio, improved photosynthetic productivity and canopy biomass accumulation under high-density cultivation conditions. Evolution of sizable arrays of light-harvesting antennae in all photosynthetic systems confers a survival advantage for the organism in the wild, where sunlight is often the growth-limiting factor. In crop monocultures, however, this property is strongly counterproductive, when growth takes place under direct and excess sunlight. The large arrays of light-harvesting antennae in crop plants cause the surface of the canopies to over-absorb solar irradiance, far in excess of what is needed to saturate photosynthesis and forcing them to engage in wasteful dissipation of the excess energy. Evidence in this work showed that downregulation by RNA-interference approaches of the Nicotiana tabacum signal recognition particle 43 (SRP43), a nuclear gene encoding a chloroplast-localized component of the photosynthetic light-harvesting assembly pathway, caused a decrease in the light-harvesting antenna size of the photosystems, a corresponding increase in the photosynthetic productivity of chlorophyll in the leaves, and improved tobacco plant canopy biomass accumulation under high-density cultivation conditions. Importantly, the resulting TLA transgenic plants had a substantially greater leaf-to-stem biomass ratio, compared to those of the wild type, grown under identical agronomic conditions. The results are discussed in terms of the potential benefit that could accrue to agriculture upon application of the TLA-technology to crop plants, entailing higher density planting with plants having a greater biomass and leaf-to-stem ratio, translating into greater crop yields per plant with canopies in a novel agronomic configuration

Gastric Antral Vascular Ectasia (Watermelon Stomach) in Patients With ESRD

In 1989, Navab et al suggested that watermelon stomach often is observed in patients with chronic renal insufficiency. On the basis of this and some later reports, an etiopathogenetic association between the 2 disorders was postulated. However, the number of relevant publications is still very limited. We describe 2 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD; 1 patient, hemodialysis therapy; 1 patient, peritoneal dialysis therapy) and watermelon stomach who presented with upper gastrointestinal bleeding and severe transfusion-dependent iron-deficiency anemia. In 1 patient, apart from the characteristic endoscopic findings of watermelon stomach affecting the antrum, there were vascular ectatic lesions in the proximal stomach. Both patients were treated successfully by using endoscopic bipolar electrocoagulation (Gold probe [GP]; Microvasive Boston Scientific, Natick, MA), which led to significant endoscopic and hematologic improvement. However, upper-gastrointestinal bleeding recurred in the second patient (peritoneal dialysis) because she did not consent to undergo endoscopic treatment on a regular basis. Watermelon stomach in patients with ESRD is a serious condition that can cause either acute or chronic upper-gastrointestinal bleeding. It should be considered in patients with upper-gastrointestinal bleeding and those with iron-deficiency anemia, which frequently presents as recombinant human erythropoietin resistance in patients with ESRD. Diagnosis is based on the distinctive endoscopic appearance of the antrum, but the proximal stomach also may be involved. Application of GP ablation seems to be a safe and effective treatment for watermelon stomach. © 2006 National Kidney Foundation, Inc

The Arabidopsis Protein CONSERVED ONLY IN THE GREEN LINEAGE160 Promotes the Assembly of the Membranous Part of the Chloroplast ATP Synthase

The chloroplast F1Fo-ATP synthase/ATPase (cpATPase) couples ATP synthesis to the light-driven electrochemical proton gradient. The cpATPase is a multiprotein complex and consists of a membrane-spanning protein channel (comprising subunit types a, b, b', and c) and a peripheral domain (subunits alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon). We report the characterization of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) CONSERVED ONLY IN THE GREEN LINEAGE160 (AtCGL160) protein (AtCGL160), conserved in green algae and plants. AtCGL160 is an integral thylakoid protein, and its carboxyl-terminal portion is distantly related to prokaryotic ATP SYNTHASE PROTEIN1 (Atp1/UncI) proteins that are thought to function in ATP synthase assembly. Plants without AtCGL160 display an increase in xanthophyll cycle activity and energy-dependent nonphotochemical quenching. These photosynthetic perturbations can be attributed to a severe reduction in cpATPase levels that result in increased acidification of the thylakoid lumen. AtCGL160 is not an integral cpATPase component but is specifically required for the efficient incorporation of the c-subunit into the cpATPase. AtCGL160, as well as a chimeric protein containing the amino-terminal part of AtCGL160 and Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 Atp1, physically interact with the c-subunit. We conclude that AtCGL160 and Atp1 facilitate the assembly of the membranous part of the cpATPase in their hosts, but loss of their functions provokes a unique compensatory response in each organism

Rice endosperm produces an underglycosylated and potent form of the HIV-neutralizing monoclonal antibody 2G12.

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