Pancreatic triglyceride lipase is involved in the virulence of the brown planthopper to rice plants

The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, an important rice insect pest, can enhance its virulence to BPH-resistant rice within as short a span as several generations. Here, we cloned a pancreatic triglyceride lipase (PTL) gene (NlPTL) in N. lugens, and found that its mRNA level was higher in the high virulence population (fed on variety Rathu Heenati, P-RH) than in the low virulence population (fed on variety Taichung Native 1, P-TN1). Knocking down NlPTL caused BPH individuals to spend more time in non-penetration and the pathway phases and less time feeding on the phloem of rice plants; these changes consequently decreased food intake, lipid content, survival rate, and fecundity in the insects. These findings reveal for the first time that PTL in BPH is involved in its virulence to rice plants.     

Fat mobilization in adipose tissue is promoted by adipose triglyceride lipase

Mobilization of fatty acids from triglyceride stores in adipose tissue requires lipolytic enzymes. Dysfunctional lipolysis affects energy homeostasis and may contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity and insulin resistance. Until now, hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) was the only enzyme known to hydrolyze triglycerides in mammalian adipose tissue. Here, we report that a second enzyme, adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), catalyzes the initial step in triglyceride hydrolysis. It is interesting that ATGL contains a "patatin domain" common to plant acyl-hydrolases. ATGL is highly expressed in adipose tissue of mice and humans. It exhibits high substrate specificity for triacylglycerol and is associated with lipid droplets. Inhibition of ATGL markedly decreases total adipose acyl-hydrolase activity. Thus, ATGL and HSL coordinately catabolize stored triglycerides in adipose tissue of mammals.     

Defective lipolysis and altered energy metabolism in mice lacking adipose triglyceride lipase

Fat tissue is the most important energy depot in vertebrates. The release of free fatty acids (FFAs) from stored fat requires the enzymatic activity of lipases. We showed that genetic inactivation of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) in mice increases adipose mass and leads to triacylglycerol deposition in multiple tissues. ATGL-deficient mice accumulated large amounts of lipid in the heart, causing cardiac dysfunction and premature death. Defective cold adaptation indicated that the enzyme provides FFAs to fuel thermogenesis. The reduced availability of ATGL-derived FFAs leads to increased glucose use, increased glucose tolerance, and increased insulin sensitivity. These results indicate that ATGL is rate limiting in the catabolism of cellular fat depots and plays an important role in energy homeostasis.     

Adipose tissue: ability to respond to nerve stimulation in vitro

Electrical stimulation of nerves to isolated rat and rabbit adipose tissue in vitro causes production of free fatty acids. Starvation increases the response. The response of white (epididymal) fat is prevented by sympathetic denervation. Direct evidence is provided showing that adipose tissue has the capacity to be an effector organ responsive to the nervous system.     

固定化微生物脂肪酶粉转化生物柴油研究

采用两种转酯方案进行脂肪酶粉转化生物柴油研究,游离脂肪酶在转酯方案一中转酯效率较高为90.15％,在转酯方案二中转酯效率为52.51％.通过壳聚糖和硅藻土对脂肪酶粉固定化并在转酯方案一中的研究发现,硅藻土固定化酶的平均转酯效率高于壳聚糖固定化酶.两种固定化脂肪酶的循环转酯试验表明,随循环次数的增加,水解酶活和转酯效率均逐渐降低,并呈现显著的相关性.     

A plant miRNA contributes to antibacterial resistance by repressing auxin signaling

Plants and animals activate defenses after perceiving pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) such as bacterial flagellin. In Arabidopsis, perception of flagellin increases resistance to the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae, although the molecular mechanisms involved remain elusive. Here, we show that a flagellin-derived peptide induces a plant microRNA (miRNA) that negatively regulates messenger RNAs for the F-box auxin receptors TIR1, AFB2, and AFB3. Repression of auxin signaling restricts P. syringae growth, implicating auxin in disease susceptibility and miRNA-mediated suppression of auxin signaling in resistance.     

A single amino acid mutation contributes to adaptive beach mouse color pattern

Natural populations of beach mice exhibit a characteristic color pattern, relative to their mainland conspecifics, driven by natural selection for crypsis. We identified a derived, charge-changing amino acid mutation in the melanocortin-1 receptor (Mc1r) in beach mice, which decreases receptor function. In genetic crosses, allelic variation at Mc1r explains 9.8% to 36.4% of the variation in seven pigmentation traits determining color pattern. The derived Mc1r allele is present in Florida's Gulf Coast beach mice but not in Atlantic coast mice with similar light coloration, suggesting that different molecular mechanisms are responsible for convergent phenotypic evolution. Here, we link a single mutation in the coding region of a pigmentation gene to adaptive quantitative variation in the wild.     

Horizontal gene transfer of a syp homolog contributes to the virulence of Burkholderia glumae

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been proved a major driving force in prokaryotic evolution. However, the molecular functions of these transferred genes in pathogenic bacteria especially plant pathogenic bacteria are still not fully investigated. In this study, the whole-genome in silico analysis was performed and found a syringopeptin synthetase (syp) homolog in Burkholderia glumae, which can cause bacterial panicle blight in rice, was predicted to be horizontally transferred from Pseudomonas ancestor with solid confidence by phylogenetic analysis. The comprehensive molecular experiments were performed to study the potential role of this gene in B. glumae. Inoculation of rice panicles with the syp mutant resulted in 60% lower disease index compared with the wild type (WT) parent strain, suggesting the requirement of syp for the full virulence of B. glumae. Chromatography analysis of exudates from B. glumae showed suppression of synthesis of metabolites analogous to syringopeptin in the mutants. All these data raise the possibility of HGT phenomenon in shaping the virulence and adaptation of B. glumae over evolutionary time.     

SsRSS1 mediates salicylic acid tolerance and contributes to virulence in sugarcane smut fungus

Sugarcane smut caused by Sporisorium scitamineum is a destructive disease responsible for significant losses in sugarcane production worldwide. However, the mechanisms underlying the pathogenicity of this fungus remain largely unknown. In this study, we found that the disruption of the SsRSS1 gene, which encodes a salicylic acid (SA) sensing regulator, does not affect phenotypic traits such as the morphology, growth rate, and sexual mating ability of haploid basidiospores, but rather reduces the tolerance of basidiospores to SA stress by blocking the induction of SsSRG1, a gene encoding a SA response protein in S. scitamineum. SsRSS1 deletion resulted in the attenuation of the virulence of the fungus. In addition to a significant reduction in whip formation, a portion of plantlets (18.3%) inoculated with the ΔSsRSS1 strains were found to be infected but failed to produce whips for up to 90 days post-inoculation. However, the development of hyphae and teliospore from the ΔSsRSS1-infected plants that formed whips seemed indistinguishable from that in the wild-type-infected plants. Combined, our findings suggested that SsRss1 is required for maintaining fungal fitness in planta by counteracting SA stress.     

Hormone-sensitive lipase: sequence, expression, and chromosomal localization to 19 cent-q13.3

Hormone-sensitive lipase, a key enzyme in fatty acid mobilization, overall energy homeostasis, and possibly steroidogenesis, is acutely controlled through reversible phosphorylation by catecholamines and insulin. The 757-amino acid sequence predicted from a cloned rat adipocyte complementary DNA showed no homology with any other known lipase or protein. The activity-controlling phosphorylation site was localized to Ser563 in a markedly hydrophilic domain, and a lipid-binding consensus site was tentatively identified. One or several messenger RNA species (3.3, 3.5, or 3.9 kilobases) were expressed in adipose and steroidogenic tissues and heart and skeletal muscle. The human hormone-sensitive lipase gene mapped to chromosome 19 cent-q13.3.     

Inhibition of pyruvate kinase M2 by reactive oxygen species contributes to cellular antioxidant responses

Control of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations is critical for cancer cell survival. We show that, in human lung cancer cells, acute increases in intracellular concentrations of ROS caused inhibition of the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) through oxidation of Cys(358). This inhibition of PKM2 is required to divert glucose flux into the pentose phosphate pathway and thereby generate sufficient reducing potential for detoxification of ROS. Lung cancer cells in which endogenous PKM2 was replaced with the Cys(358) to Ser(358) oxidation-resistant mutant exhibited increased sensitivity to oxidative stress and impaired tumor formation in a xenograft model. Besides promoting metabolic changes required for proliferation, the regulatory properties of PKM2 may confer an additional advantage to cancer cells by allowing them to withstand oxidative stress.     

Up-regulation of a homeodomain-leucine zipper gene HD-1 contributes to trichome initiation and development in cotton

Plant trichomes originate from epidermal cells. In this work, we demonstrated that a homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) gene, Gh_A06G1283 (GhHD-1A), was related to the leaf trichome trait in allotetraploid cotton and could be a candidate gene for the T₁ locus. The ortholog of GhHD-1A in the hairless accession Gossypium barbadense cv. Hai7124 was interrupted by a long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposon, while GhHD-1A worked well in the hairy accession Gossypium hirsutum acc. T586. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis showed that GhHD-1A belonged to the HD-Zip IV gene family, which mainly regulated epidermis hair development in plants. Silencing of GhHD-1A and its homoeologs GhHD-1D in allotetraploid T586 and Hai7124 could significantly reduce the density of leaf hairs and affect the expression levels of other genes related to leaf trichome formation. Further analysis found that GhHD-1A mainly regulated trichome initiation on the upper epidermal hairs of leaves in cotton, while the up-regulated expression of GhHD-1A in different organs/tissues also altered epidermal trichome development. This study not only helps to unravel the important roles of GhHD-1A in regulating trichome initiation in cotton, but also provides a reference for exploring the different forms of trichome development in plants.     

Top-dressing nitrogen fertilizer rate contributes to decrease culm physical strength by reducing structural carbohydrate content in japonica rice

Lodging is an important factor limiting rice yield and quality by bending or breaking stem in japonica rice(Oryza sativa L.) production. The objectives of this study were to determine the mechanism of lodging resistance in japonica rice as affected by carbohydrate components, especially its related arrangement in culm tissue and response to top-dressing nitrogen(N) fertilizer. Field experiments were conducted in Danyang County, Jiangsu Province, China, by using two japonica rice varieties Wuyunjing 23(lodging-resistance variety) and W3668(lodging-susceptible variety) with three top-dressing N fertilizer rates(0, 135 and 270 kg N ha~(–1)) in 2013 and 2014. Lodging related physical parameters, morphological characteristics and stem carbohydrate components were investigated at 30 d after full heading stage. Results showed that with increasing N fertilizer rates, the lodging rate and lodging index increased rapidly primarily due to significant reduction of breaking strength in two japonica rice varieties. Correlation analysis revealed that breaking strength was significantly and positively correlated with bending stress, but negatively correlated with section modulus, except for significant correlation at W3668 in 2014. Higher stem plumpness status and structural carbohydrate contents significantly enhanced stem stiffness, despite of lower non-structural carbohydrate. With higher N fertilizer rate, the culm wall thickness was almost identical, and culm diameter increased slightly. The structural carbohydrates, especially for lignin content in culm, reduced significantly under high N rate. Further histochemical staining analysis revealed that high N treatments decreased the lignin deposition rapidly in the sclerenchyma cells of mechanical tissue, large vascular bundle and small vascular bundle region, which were consistent with reduction of bending stress, especially for W3668 and thus, resulted in poor stem strength and higher lodging index. These results suggested that structural carbohydrate plays a vital role for improving stem strength in japonica rice. N rate decreased lodging resistance primarily due to poor stem stiffness, by reducing structural carbohydrate content and lignin deposition in the secondary cell wall of lower internode culm tissue.     

qSTA2-2, a novel QTL that contributes to seed starch synthesis in Zea mays L.

<正>Theseedstoragematerialsaccumulateduringseeddevelopment,andareessentialforseedgerminationand seedlingestablishment.Hereweemployedtwobi-parentalpopulationsofanF2:3populationdevelopedfroma crossofimproved220(I220,smallseedswithlowstarch)andPH4CV(largeseedswithhighstarch),aswellas recombinant-inbred lines (RILs) of X178 (high starch) and its improved introgression line I178 (low starch), to identify the genes that control seed storage materials.We identified a total of 12 QTLs for starch, p...     

ATAF2正调控拟南芥对橡胶树白粉菌的抗病性

橡胶树白粉菌(Oidium heveae)侵染拟南芥野生型Col-0,激发拟南芥的抗病反应。该抗病反应依赖于EDS1（enhanced disease susceptibility 1）,EDS1在TIR-NB-LRR（Toll-Interleukin1 Receptor-nucleotide binding-leucine-rich repeat）类抗性基因介导的抗病信号通路中发挥非常重要的作用,但目前还不清楚具体的EDS1上、下游作用元件是什么。为了进一步研究橡胶树白粉菌在拟南芥上激发的抗疾信号通路,本实验室对接种橡胶白粉菌oidium heveae HN1106的拟南芥野生型Col-0进行了RNA-Seq数据分析,结果表明,拟南芥Col-0在接种橡胶树白粉菌4 d后,NAC家族 (ATAF1,2 and CUC2, NAM)转录因子ATAF2基因上调表达20倍,并且正调控拟南芥对橡胶树白粉菌的抗病性。另外,笔者通过体外蛋白质pull-down试验和体内原生质体免疫共沉淀试验,发现ATAF2可以直接与EDS1发生相互作用,这为将来进一步阐明EDS1抗病信号通路奠定了很好的基础。