Sirt5 is a NAD-dependent protein lysine demalonylase and desuccinylase

Silent information regulator 2 (Sir2) proteins (sirtuins) are nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent deacetylases that regulate important biological processes. Mammals have seven sirtuins, Sirt1 to Sirt7. Four of them (Sirt4 to Sirt7) have no detectable or very weak deacetylase activity. We found that Sirt5 is an efficient protein lysine desuccinylase and demalonylase in vitro. The preference for succinyl and malonyl groups was explained by the presence of an arginine residue (Arg(105)) and tyrosine residue (Tyr(102)) in the acyl pocket of Sirt5. Several mammalian proteins were identified with mass spectrometry to have succinyl or malonyl lysine modifications. Deletion of Sirt5 in mice appeared to increase the level of succinylation on carbamoyl phosphate synthase 1, which is a known target of Sirt5. Thus, protein lysine succinylation may represent a posttranslational modification that can be reversed by Sirt5 in vivo.     

Modulation of postendocytic sorting of G protein-coupled receptors

Recycling of the mu opioid receptor to the plasma membrane after endocytosis promotes rapid resensitization of signal transduction, whereas targeting of the delta opioid receptor (DOR) to lysosomes causes proteolytic down-regulation. We identified a protein that binds preferentially to the cytoplasmic tail of the DOR as a candidate heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G protein)-coupled receptor-associated sorting protein (GASP). Disruption of the DOR-GASP interaction through receptor mutation or overexpression of a dominant negative fragment of GASP inhibited receptor trafficking to lysosomes and promoted recycling. The GASP family of proteins may modulate lysosomal sorting and functional down-regulation of a variety of G protein-coupled receptors.     

Microbial community composition and carbon cycling within soil microenvironments of conventional, low-input, and organic cropping systems

This study coupled stable isotope probing with phospholipid fatty acid analysis (¹³C-PLFA) to describe the role of microbial community composition in the short-term processing (i.e., C incorporation into microbial biomass and/or deposition or respiration of C) of root- versus residue-C and, ultimately, in long-term C sequestration in conventional (annual synthetic fertilizer applications), low-input (synthetic fertilizer and cover crop applied in alternating years), and organic (annual composted manure and cover crop additions) maize-tomato (Zea mays - Lycopersicum esculentum) cropping systems. During the maize growing season, we traced ¹³C-labeled hairy vetch (Vicia dasycarpa) roots and residues into PLFAs extracted from soil microaggregates (53-250 μm) and silt-and-clay (<53 μm) particles. Total PLFA biomass was greatest in the organic (41.4 nmol g⁻¹ soil) and similar between the conventional and low-input systems (31.0 and 30.1 nmol g⁻¹ soil, respectively), with Gram-positive bacterial PLFA dominating the microbial communities in all systems. Although total PLFA-C derived from roots was over four times greater than from residues, relative distributions (mol%) of root- and residue-derived C into the microbial communities were not different among the three cropping systems. Additionally, neither the PLFA profiles nor the amount of root- and residue-C incorporation into the PLFAs of the microaggregates were consistently different when compared with the silt-and-clay particles. More fungal PLFA-C was measured, however, in microaggregates compared with silt-and-clay. The lack of differences between the mol% within the microbial communities of the cropping systems and between the PLFA-C in the microaggregates and the silt-and-clay may have been due to (i) insufficient differences in quality between roots and residues and/or (ii) the high N availability in these N-fertilized cropping systems that augmented the abilities of the microbial communities to process a wide range of substrate qualities. The main implications of this study are that (i) the greater short-term microbial processing of root- than residue-C can be a mechanistic explanation for the higher relative retention of root- over residue-C, but microbial community composition did not influence long-term C sequestration trends in the three cropping systems and (ii) in spite of the similarity between the microbial community profiles of the microaggregates and the silt-and-clay, more C was processed in the microaggregates by fungi, suggesting that the microaggregate is a relatively unique microenvironment for fungal activity.     

Protection of soil carbon by microaggregates within earthworm casts

Earthworms are known to play a role in aggregate formation and soil organic matter (SOM) protection. However, it is still unclear at what scale and how quickly earthworms manage to protect SOM. We investigated the effects of Aporrectodea caliginosa on aggregation and aggregate-associated C pools using ¹³C-labeled sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) leaf residue. Two incubations were set up. The first incubation consisted of soil samples crushed <250 μm to break up all macroaggregates with three treatments: (i) control soil; (ii) soil+¹³C-labeled residue and (iii) soil+¹³C-labeled residue+earthworms. Earthworms were added after 8 d and 12 d (days) later, aggregate size distribution was measured together with total C and ¹³C in each aggregate fraction. A second incubation was made to assay protected versus unprotected total C and ¹³C from 21-d laboratory incubations of intact and crushed large (>2000 μm) and small (250-2000 μm) macroaggregates and microaggregates (53-250 μm). Eight different pools of aggregate-associated C were quantified: (1) and (2) unprotected C pools in large and small macroaggregates, (3) unprotected C pools in microaggregates, (4) and (5) protected C pools in large and small macroaggregates, (6) protected C pool in microaggregates, and (7) and (8) protected C pools in microaggregates within large and small macroaggregates. In the presence of earthworms, a higher proportion of large macroaggregates was newly formed and these aggregates contained more C and ¹³C compared to bulk soil. There were no significant differences between the samples with or without earthworms in the C pool-sizes protected by macroaggregates, microaggregates or microaggregates within small macroaggregates. However, in the presence of earthworms, the C protected by microaggregates within large macroaggregates was a significant pool and 22% of this C pool was newly added C. In conclusion, these results clearly indicate the direct involvement of earthworms in providing protection of soil C in microaggregates within large macroaggregates leading to a possible long-term stabilization of soil C.     

UN ECE ICP Materials: Dose-Response Functions on Dry and Wet Acid Deposition Effects After 8 Years of Exposure

The main results of the International Co-operative Programme on Effects on Materials, including Historic and Cultural Monuments (ICP Materials) within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) are summarised. The 8-year field exposure programme involves 39 test sites in 12 European countries and in the United States and Canada. Dose-response functions (DRF) expressing the effect of dry and wet deposition as individual terms have been obtained for a wide range of materials including bronze, copper, weathering steel, zinc, aluminium, nickel, tin, stone materials, paint coatings and glass materials. The DRF's includes parameters that are easily available on different geographical scales and can be used for mapping areas of increased corrosion rates and for calculation of costs.     

Conformational states of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) Helianthinin: effect of heat and pH

The structure and solubility of helianthinin, the most abundant protein of sunflower seeds, was investigated as a function of pH and temperature. Dissociation of the 11S form (hexamer) into the 7S form (trimer) gradually increased with increasing pH from 5.8 to 9.0. High ionic strength (I = 250 mM) stabilizes the 11S form at pH > 7.0. Heating and low pH resulted in dissociation into the monomeric constituents (2-3S). Next, the 7S and 11S forms of helianthinin were isolated and shown to differ in their secondary and tertiary structure, and to have denaturation temperatures (T(d)) of 65 and 90 degrees C, respectively. Furthermore, the existence of two populations of the monomeric form of helianthinin with denaturation temperatures of 65 and 90 degrees C was described. This leads to the hypothesis that helianthinin can adopt two different conformational states: one with T(d) = 65 degrees C and a second with T(d) = 90 degrees C.     

Emission Inventories for SO2 and NOx in Developing Country Regions in 1995 with Projected Emissions for 2025 According to Two Scenarios

Water, Air, &; Soil Pollution - Top-down inventories of anthropogenic SO2 and NOx emissions were compiled for 1995 for developing country regions. Regional emission factors were used to generate...     

Accumulation of Nutrients in Above and Below Ground Biomass in Response to Ammonium Sulphate Addition in a Norway Spruce Stand in Southwest Sweden

The effects of ammonium sulphate (NS) on the accumulation of nutrients in above and below ground biomass and soil were studied in a Norway spruce stand in south-west Sweden during 1988–1993. Ammonium sulphate addition resulted in nitrogen accumulation with 326 and 16 kg ha^?1 in above and below ground biomass, respectively. Corresponding figures for the control plots (C) were 34 and 3 kg ha^?1. Nitrogen accumulation in forest floor of NS was 266 kg ha^?1 and 47 kg ha^?1 in mineral soil. About 70% of added sulphate by fertiliser was retained in NS plots (482 kg S ha^?1) of which 274 kg ha^?1 was adsorbed in the mineral soil. The sulphate addition resulted in increased leaching of nitrogen, magnesium, calcium and sulphur. It is suggested that the spruce stand at the study site has a high capacity to accumulate nitrogen with a high above ground production. The high input of ammonium sulphate may in the long run result in increased losses of cations to ground water.     

Statistical Modeling of the Partitioning of Nonylphenol in Soil

Partition coefficients K _P of nonylphenol (NP) in soil were determined for 193 soil samples which differed widely in content of soil organic carbon (SOC), hydrogen activity, clay content, and in the content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). By means of multiple linear regression analysis (MLR), pedotransfer functions were derived to predict partition coefficients from soil data. SOC and pH affected the sorption, though the latter was in a range significantly below the pK_a of NP. Quality of soil organic matter presumably plays an important but yet not quantified role in sorption of NP. For soil samples with SOC values less than 3 g kg^?1, model prediction became uncertain with this linear approach. We suggest that using only SOC and pH data results in good prediction of NP sorption in soils with SOC higher than 3 g kg^?1. Considering the varying validity of the linear model for different ranges of the most sensitive parameter SOC, a more flexible, nonlinear approach was tested. The application of an artificial neuronal network (ANN) to predict sorption of NP in soils showed a sigmoidal relation between K _P and SOC. The nonlinear ANN approach provided good results compared to the MLR approach and represents an alternative tool for prediction of NP partitioning coefficients.