The thermodynamics of Pr55Gag-RNA interaction regulate the assembly of HIV

The interactions that occur during HIV Pr55Gag oligomerization and genomic RNA packagingare essential elements that facilitate HIV assembly. However, mechanistic details ofthese interactions are not clearly defined. Here, we overcome previous limitations in producinglarge quantities of full-length recombinant Pr55Gag that is required for isothermal titrationcalorimetry (ITC) studies, and we have revealed the thermodynamic properties of HIVassembly for the first time. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the binding between RNAand HIV Pr55Gag is an energetically favourable reaction (ΔG<0) that is further enhanced bythe oligomerization of Pr55Gag. The change in enthalpy (ΔH) widens sequentially from: (1)Pr55Gag-Psi RNA binding during HIV genome selection; to (2) Pr55Gag-Guanosine Uridine(GU)-containing RNA binding in cytoplasm/plasma membrane; and then to (3) Pr55Gag-Adenosine(A)-containing RNA binding in immature HIV. These data imply the stepwiseincrements of heat being released during HIV biogenesis may help to facilitate the processof viral assembly. By mimicking the interactions between A-containing RNA and oligomericPr55Gag in immature HIV, it was noted that a p6 domain truncated Pr50Gag Δp6 is less efficientthan full-length Pr55Gag in this thermodynamic process. These data suggest a potentialunknown role of p6 in Pr55Gag-Pr55Gag oligomerization and/or Pr55Gag-RNA interaction duringHIV assembly. Our data provide direct evidence on how nucleic acid sequences and theoligomeric state of Pr55Gag regulate HIV assembly

Biofuels : the next generation

There are many issues with the continued use of fossil fuels for energy, including finite supply, energy security and their contribution to rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climate change, leading to substantial, increased interest in the research and development of renewable energy. In 2006, renewable energy provided only 2.5% of global energy needs, which is well short ofthe national renewable energy targets of many countries for the period 2020-2030, including Australia 1. For these reasons there is substantial investment in the development of renewable fuel technologies 1. Bioethanol and biodiesel derived from biomass are alternative fuels for which production capacity and demand is rapidlyincreasing

Supply and Demand in Agricultural Economics Education

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Microbial biotransformations: Steroselective synthesis of pharmaceutical drug precursors

Biotransformations are becoming increasingly popular in the production of enantio- and regiopure- intermediates for synthesis of complex organic compounds. Whole microbial cells or enzymes can be used to carry out such specific chemical reactions that are otherwise difficult to achieve synthetically. Chemoenzymatic synthesis is of particular interest in the pharmaceutical industry where some steps can be carried out enzymatically to obtain chiral synthons for further enzymatic/chemical processing. In this report, we discuss some recent developments in the field together with a few examples

BIOPROCESSING - MICROBIAL BIOTRANSFORMATIONS: STEREOSELECTIVE SYNTHESIS OF PHARMACEUTICAL DRUG PRECURSORS

Biotransformations are becoming increasingly popular in the production of enantio- and regiopure- intermediates for synthesis of complex organic compounds. Whole microbial cells or enzymes can be used to carry out such specific chemical reactions that are otherwise difficult to achieve synthetically. Chemoenzymatic synthesis is of particular interest in the pharmaceutical industry where some steps can be carried out enzymatically to obtain chiral synthons for further enzymatic/chemical processing. In this report, we discuss some recent developments in the field together with a few examples

Auxin-mediated protein depletion for metabolic engineering in terpene-producing yeast

In metabolic engineering, loss-of-function experiments are used to understand and optimise metabolism. A conditional gene inactivation tool is required when gene deletion is lethal or detrimental to growth. Here, we exploit auxin-inducible protein degradation as a metabolic engineering approach in yeast. We demonstrate its effectiveness using terpenoid production. First, we target an essential prenyl-pyrophosphate metabolism protein, farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (Erg20p). Degradation successfully redirects metabolic flux toward monoterpene (C10) production. Second, depleting hexokinase-2, a key protein in glucose signalling transduction, lifts glucose repression and boosts production of sesquiterpene (C15) nerolidol to 3.5 g L−1 in flask cultivation. Third, depleting acetyl-CoA carboxylase (Acc1p), another essential protein, delivers growth arrest without diminishing production capacity in nerolidol-producing yeast, providing a strategy to decouple growth and production. These studies demonstrate auxin-mediated protein degradation as an advanced tool for metabolic engineering. It also has potential for broader metabolic perturbation studies to better understand metabolism.</p

Auxin-mediated induction of GAL promoters by conditional degradation of Mig1p improves sesquiterpene production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with engineered acetyl-CoA synthesis

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae uses the pyruvate dehydrogenase-bypass for acetyl-CoA biosynthesis. This relatively inefficient pathway limits production potential for acetyl-CoA-derived biochemical due to carbon loss and the cost of two high-energy phosphate bonds per molecule of acetyl-CoA. Here, we attempted to improve acetyl-CoA production efficiency by introducing heterologous acetylating aldehyde dehydrogenase and phosphoketolase pathways for acetyl-CoA synthesis to enhance production of the sesquiterpene trans-nerolidol. In addition, we introduced auxin-mediated degradation of the glucose-dependent repressor Mig1p to allow induced expression of GAL promoters on glucose so that production potential on glucose could be examined. The novel genes that we used to reconstruct the heterologous acetyl-CoA pathways did not sufficiently complement the loss of endogenous acetyl-CoA pathways, indicating that superior heterologous enzymes are necessary to establish fully functional synthetic acetyl-CoA pathways and properly explore their potential for nerolidol synthesis. Notwithstanding this, nerolidol production was improved twofold to a titre of ˜ 900 mg l−1 in flask cultivation using a combination of heterologous acetyl-CoA pathways and Mig1p degradation. Conditional Mig1p depletion is presented as a valuable strategy to improve the productivities in the strains engineered with GAL promoters-controlled pathways when growing on glucose.</p