Complete sequence and genomic annotation of carrot torradovirus 1

Carrot torradovirus 1 (CaTV1) is a new member of the genus Torradovirus within the family Secoviridae. CaTV1 genome sequences were obtained from a previous next-generation sequencing (NGS) study and were compared to other members and tentative new members of the genus. The virus has a bipartite genome, and RACE was used to amplify and sequence each end of RNA1 and RNA2. As a result, RNA1 and RNA2 are estimated to contain 6944 and 4995 nucleotides, respectively, with RNA1 encoding the proteins involved in virus replication, and RNA2 encoding the encapsidation and movement proteins. Sequence comparisons showed that CaTV1 clustered within the non-tomato-infecting torradoviruses and is most similar to motherwort yellow mottle virus (MYMoV). The nucleotide sequence identities of the Pro-Pol and coat protein regions were below the criteria established by the ICTV for demarcating species, confirming that CaTV1 should be classified as a member of a new species within the genus Torradovirus

Low-density lipoprotein receptor is a calcium/magnesium sensor - Role of LR4 and LR5 ion interaction kinetics in low-density lipoprotein release in the endosome

The low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) captures circulating lipoproteins and delivers them in the endosome for degradation. Its function is essential for cholesterol homeostasis, and mutations in the LDLR are the major cause of familiar hypercholesterolemia. The release of LDL is usually attributed to endosome acidification. As the pH drops, the affinity of the LDLR/LDL complex is reduced, whereas the strength of a self-complex formed between two domains of the receptor (i.e. the LDL binding domain and the β-propeller domain) increases. However, an alternative model states that, as a consequence of a drop in both pH and Ca2+ concentration, the LDLR binding domain is destabilized in the endosome, which weakens the LDLR/LDL complex, thus liberating the LDL particles. In the present study, we test a key underlying assumption of the second model, namely that the lipoprotein binding repeats of the receptor (specifically repeats 4 and 5, LR4 and LR5) rapidly sense endosomal changes in Ca2+ concentration. Our kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of Ca2+ and Mg2+ binding to LR4 and LR5, as well as to the tandem of the two (LR4-5), shows that both repeats spontaneously release Ca2+ in a time scale much shorter than endosomal delivery of LDL, thus acting as Ca2+ sensors that become unfolded under endosomal conditions. Our analysis additionally explains the lower Ca2+ affinity of repeat LR4, compared to LR5, as arising from a very slow Ca 2+ binding reaction in the former, most likely related to the lower conformational stability of apolipoprotein LR4, compared to apolipoprotein LR5, as determined from thermal unfolding experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. © 2014 FEBS.Peer Reviewe

First report of Carrot torradovirus 1 (CaTV1), a member of the Torradovirus Genus, infecting carrots in France

First Report of [i]Carrot torradovirus 1[/i] (CaTV1), a Member of the [i]Torradovirus[/i] Genus, Infecting Carrots in Franc