A 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate autotrophic carbon dioxide assimilation pathway in Archaea

The assimilation of carbon dioxide (CO2) into organic material is quantitatively the most important biosynthetic process. We discovered that an autotrophic member of the archaeal order Sulfolobales, Metallosphaera sedula, fixed CO2 with acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA)/propionyl-CoA carboxylase as the key carboxylating enzyme. In this system, one acetyl-CoA and two bicarbonate molecules were reductively converted via 3-hydroxypropionate to succinyl-CoA. This intermediate was reduced to 4-hydroxybutyrate and converted into two acetyl-CoA molecules via 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase. The key genes of this pathway were found not only in Metallosphaera but also in Sulfolobus, Archaeoglobus, and Cenarchaeum species. Moreover, the Global Ocean Sampling database contains half as many 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase sequences as compared with those found for another key photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase. This indicates the importance of this enzyme in global carbon cycling.     

Carbon monoxide on jupiter and implications for atmospheric convection

A study of the equilibrium and disequilibrium thermochemistry of the recently discovered carbon monoxide on Jupiter suggests that the presence of this gas in the visible atmosphere is a direct result of very rapid upward mixing from levels in the deep atmosphere where the temperature is about 1100 degrees K and where carbon monoxide is thermodynamically much more stable. As a consequence the observed carbon monoxide mixing ratio is a sensitive function of the vertical eddy mixing coefficient. We infer a value for this latter coefficient which is about three to four orders of magnitude greater than that in the earth's troposphere. This result directly supports existing structural and dynamical theories implying very rapid convection in the deep Jovian atmosphere, driven by an internal heat source.     

Molecule cascades

Carbon monoxide molecules were arranged in atomically precise configurations, which we call "molecule cascades," where the motion of one molecule causes the subsequent motion of another, and so on in a cascade of motion similar to a row of toppling dominoes. Isotopically pure cascades were assembled on a copper (111) surface with a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The hopping rate of carbon monoxide molecules in cascades was found to be independent of temperature below 6 kelvin and to exhibit a pronounced isotope effect, hallmarks of a quantum tunneling process. At higher temperatures, we observed a thermally activated hopping rate with an anomalously low Arrhenius prefactor that we interpret as tunneling from excited vibrational states. We present a cascade-based computation scheme that has all of the devices and interconnects required for the one-time computation of an arbitrary logic function. Logic gates and other devices were implemented by engineered arrangements of molecules at the intersections of cascades. We demonstrate a three-input sorter that uses several AND gates and OR gates, as well as the crossover and fan-out units needed to connect them.     

Microwave measurements of carbon monoxide on titan

The ratio of the flux density of Titan was measured in two 200-megahertz bands, one centered on the (1-0) rotation line of carbon monoxide at 115.3 gigahertz and the other 2600 megahertz lower. The measurements were made with a complex-correlation technique on the new millimeter-wavelength interferometer at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory, Big Pine, California. The excess flux in the carbon monoxide band is interpreted as a strong detection of carbon monoxide and a mixing ratio, assumed constant, of 6 x 10(-5). The brightness temperature of Titan at 112.6 gigahertz is 69 +/- 10 kelvins, consistent with atmospheric emission from just below the tropopause.     

Carbon monoxide balance in nature

Consideration of the steady-state equations for stable carbon monoxide and for radioactive carbon monoxide in the troposphere leads to the conclusion that carbon monoxide is produced at a rate of 5x10(15) grams per year, a value some 25 times greater than the rate of carbon monoxide production from combustion. The concomitant residence time for carbon monoxide is 0.1 year, in agreement with a previous estimate of Weinstock. Hydroxyl radicals are shown to account for both the production of this large amount of carbon monoxide by methane oxidation and for its removal by carbon monoxide oxidation. The average concentration of hydroxyl radicals in the troposphere required to achieve this effect is 2.3x10(6) molecules per cubic centimeter, with a daytime concentration of twice that. Levy and McConnell, McElroy, and Wofsy have deduced concentrations of hydroxyl radicals in the troposphere of the same magnitude from purely photochemical considerations, in support of this model.     

Soil as a sink for atmospheric carbon monoxide

The rate of carbon monoxide oxidation by soil increased with increasing carbon monoxide concentration in the gas phase, in line with Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Rates of carbon monoxide oxidation were determined for 20 soils at 0 degrees , 10 degrees , 20 degrees , and 30 degrees C. The observed oxidation rates were used to calculate a global soil uptake rate of atmospheric carbon monoxide of 4.1 x 10(14) grams per year, which is slightly less than the amount of carbon monoxide believed to be produced annually as a result of fossil fuel combustion.     

IRAS 14348-1447, an Ultraluminous Pair of Colliding, Gas-Rich Galaxies: The Birth of a Quasar?

Ground-based observations of the object IRAS 14348-1447, which was discovered with the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, show that it is an extremely luminous colliding galaxy system that emits more than 95 percent of its energy at far-infrared wavelengths. IRAS 14348-1447, which is receeding from the sun at 8 percent of the speed of light, has a bolometric luminosity more than 100 times larger than that of our galaxy, and is therefore as luminous as optical quasars. New optical, infrared, and spectroscopic measurements suggest that the dominant luminosity source is a dustenshrouded quasar. The fuel for the intense activity is an enormous supply of molecular gas. Carbon monoxide emission has been detected at a wavelength of 2.6 millimeters by means of a new, more sensitive receiver recently installed on the 12-meter telescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. IRAS 14348-1447 is the most distant and luminous source of carbon monoxide line emission yet detected. The derived mass of interstellar molecular hydrogen is 6 x 10(10) solar masses. This value is approximately 20 times that of the molecular gas content of the Milky Way and is similar to the largest masses of atomic hydrogen found in galaxies. A large mass of molecular gas may be a prerequisite for the formation of quasars during strong galactic collisions.     

乙酰辅酶A羧化酶的结构·功能及基因的研究进展

乙酰辅酶A羧化酶（Acetyl-CoA carboxylase,ACCase）属于生物素包含酶类型Ⅰ,在生物体内催化乙酰辅酶A形成丙二酰辅酶A。在植物中乙酰辅酶A羧化酶主要有异质型和同质型2种;在动物中乙酰辅酶A羧化酶属同质型,分为ACC1和ACC2 2种类型。主要介绍了分布于双子叶植物以及非禾本科单子叶植物的质体中的异质型ACCase的亚基组成、结构、功能及其编码基因。ACCase由生物素羧化酶（Biotincarboxylase,BC）亚基、生物素羧基载体蛋白亚基（Biotincarboxyl Camer Protein,BCCP）、羧基转移酶的α-CT亚基和β-CT亚基4种亚基构成,有3个功能结构域,即BC功能结构域、BCCP功能结构域以及CT功能结构域。除β-CT亚基由质体基因编码外,其他亚基由核基因编码,在细胞质中合成后转运到质体中组成功能蛋白,参与脂肪酸的合成。     

甘蓝型油菜乙酰辅酶A羧化酶3个亚基基因的克隆及其表达

[目的]为构建乙酰辅酶A羧化酶的叶绿体表达载体奠定基础。[方法]以从甘蓝型油菜叶片中提取的叶绿体基因组DNA为模板进行PCR扩增,克隆羧基转移酶β亚基基因。以从开花20~29 d后油菜幼胚中提取的总RNA为模板进行RT-PCR扩增,克隆生物素羧化酶和生物素羧基载体蛋白的cDNA序列。最后,乙酰辅酶A羧化酶的3个亚基基因被克隆到大肠杆菌表达载体中。[结果]SDS-PAGE分析结果表明乙酰辅酶A羧化酶的3个亚基基因分别被克隆到大肠杆菌表达载体中。乙酰辅酶A羧化酶的3个亚基基因在大肠杆菌中的表达产物分别为76.6、44.0和81.5 kD,其融合蛋白分别占总菌体蛋白的12%、10%和6%。[结论]不同品种的甘蓝型油菜生物素羧基载体蛋白cDNA序列存在较大差异。     

A methylaspartate cycle in haloarchaea

Access to novel ecological niches often requires adaptation of metabolic pathways to cope with new environments. For conversion to cellular building blocks, many substrates enter central carbon metabolism via acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA). Until now, only two such pathways have been identified: the glyoxylate cycle and the ethylmalonyl-CoA pathway. Prokaryotes in the haloarchaea use a third pathway by which acetyl-CoA is oxidized to glyoxylate via the key intermediate methylaspartate. Glyoxylate condensation with another acetyl-CoA molecule yields malate, the final assimilation product. This cycle combines reactions that originally belonged to different metabolic processes in different groups of prokaryotes, which suggests lateral gene transfer and evolutionary tinkering of acetate assimilation. Moreover, it requires elevated intracellular glutamate concentrations, as well as coupling carbon assimilation with nitrogen metabolism.     

铜对葡萄酒酿酒酵母的氧化胁迫机制

【目的】研究铜离子对葡萄酒酿酒酵母的氧化胁迫作用,为葡萄酒酿造过程的铜离子控制提供依据。【方法】以模拟葡萄汁为酵母培养基,添加CuSO4分别设置0、0.05、0.10、0.20、0.50和1.00 mmol?L-1Cu2+浓度。另外设置0.50 mmol?L-1 H2O2的处理作为氧化胁迫的对比。【结果】铜胁迫下酿酒酵母细胞内超氧阴离子的产生速率和过氧化氢的含量增加。酿酒酵母膜脂过氧化程度加剧,细胞内丙二醛含量随着铜处理浓度的增加而增加。酿酒酵母细胞内超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化氢酶的活性在铜胁迫下有不同程度的升高。铜胁迫下谷胱甘肽和甘油在酿酒酵母细胞内大量积累。【结论】铜胁迫刺激酿酒酵母细胞内活性氧的形成,产生与过氧化氢类似的氧化胁迫,而且酵母细胞的抗氧化酶体系和非酶抗氧化系统可协同作用减少细胞受到的伤害。     

Soil: a natural sink for carbon monoxide

A potting soil mixture depleted carbon monoxide in a test atmosphere from a concentration of 120 parts per million to near zero within 3 hours. Maximum activity occurred at 30 degrees C. Steam sterilization of the soil, the addition of antibiotics or 10 percent (by weight) saline solution, and anaerobic conditions all prevented carbon monoxide uptake. Sterilized soil inoculated with nonsterile soil acquired activity with time. Samples of various natural soils differed in their ability to remove carbon monoxide from the air. Acidic soils with a high content of organic matter were generally the most active. The soil's ability to remove carbon monoxide from the atmosphere is ascribed to the activity of soil micro-organisms.     

Subunit communication in the anthranilate synthase complex from Salmonella typhimurium

The anthranilate synthase-phosphoribosyl transferase complex of the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway in Salmonella typhimurium is an allosteric, heterotetrameric (TrpE2-TrpD2) enzyme whose multiple activities are negatively feedback-regulated by L-tryptophan. A hybrid complex containing one catalytically active, feedback-insensitive and one catalytically inactive, feedback-sensitive mutant TrpE subunit was assembled in vitro and used to investigate communication between regulatory and catalytic sites located on different subunits. The properties of the hybrid complex demonstrate that the binding of a single inhibitor molecule to one TrpE subunit is sufficient for the propagation of a conformational change that affects the active site of the companion subunit.     

Genetic evidence for transmembrane acetylation by lysosomes

Acetyl-CoA:alpha-glucosaminide N-acetyltransferase is a lysosomal-membrane enzyme deficient in a genetic disorder, Sanfilippo disease type C. The enzyme catalyzes the transfer of an acetyl group from cytoplasmic acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) to terminal alpha-glucosamine residues of heparan sulfate within the organelle. Previous kinetic experiments indicated that the enzyme carries out a transmembrane acetylation via a ping-pong mechanism; the reaction can therefore be dissected into two half reactions--acetylation of the enzyme, and transfer of the acetyl group to glucosamine. Cells derived from patients were found to differ in their ability to perform each half reaction. Five cell lines (derived from three families) were able to catalyze acetylation of the lysosomal membrane and to carry out acetyl-CoA/CoA exchange, whereas a sixth cell line was devoid of this activity.     

Submillimeter heterodyne detection of interstellar carbon monoxide at 434 micrometers

A submillimeter heterodyne radiometer, developed for astronomical applications, uses an optically pumped laser local oscillator and a quasi-optical Schottky diode mixer. The resultant telescope-mounted system, which has a noise temperature less than 4000 K (double sideband) and high frequency and spatial resolution, has been used to detect the J = 6 --> 5 rotational transition of carbon monoxide at 434 micrometers in the Orion molecular cloud. The measurements, when compared with previous millimeter-wave data, indicate that the broad carbon monoxide emission feature is produced by an optically thin gas whose temperature exceeds 180 K.     

Cytochrome a3 structure in carbon monoxide-bound cytochrome oxidase

The iron-carbon monoxide stretching mode and the iron-carbon-oxygen bending mode in carbon monoxide-bound cytochrome oxidase have been assigned at 520 and 578 cm-1, respectively. The frequencies, widths, and intensities of these modes show that the Fe-C-O grouping in carbon monoxide-cytochrome a3 is linear but tilted from the normal to the heme plane; that the iron-histidine bond in both five- and six-coordinate cytochrome a3 is strained; and that the carbon monoxide and the proximal histidine each have characteristic, well-defined orientations in all molecules. These data can account for the binding affinities of carbon monoxide and dioxygen under physiological conditions.     

Carbon monoxide: residence time in the atmosphere

A lower limit of 0.1 year for the residence time of carbon monIoxide in the atmosphere is derived from radiocarbon measurements. The action of certain microorganisms and atmospheric photochemical reactions are possible mechanisms for the removal of carbon monoxide. This value can be compared with 2.7 years, a value deduced from estimated rates of carbon monoxide production and global measurements of atmospheric concentrations of carbon monoxide.     

Carbon monoxide in rainwater

Concentrations of carbon monoxide in rainwater collected at widely diverse locations show up to a 200-fold supersaturation relative to the partial pressure of the gas in the atmosphere. These results indicate the existence of an additional natural source of carbon monoxide not heretofore considered. Production of carbon monoxide in clouds is tentatively attributed to the photochemical oxidation of organic matter or the slight dissociation of carbon dioxide induced by electrical discharges, or both. Methane concentrations measured in the same rainwater show that the partitioning of this gas, unlike that of carbon monoxide, is very close to a state of equilibrium.     

The 2.3 angstrom X-ray structure of nitrite reductase from Achromobacter cycloclastes

The three-dimensional crystal structure of the copper-containing nitrite reductase (NIR) from Achromobacter cycloclastes has been determined to 2.3 angstrom (A) resolution by isomorphous replacement. The monomer has two Greek key beta-barrel domains similar to that of plastocyanin and contains two copper sites. The enzyme is a trimer both in the crystal and in solution. The two copper atoms in the monomer comprise one type I copper site (Cu-I; two His, one Cys, and one Met ligands) and one putative type II copper site (Cu-II; three His and one solvent ligands). Although ligated by adjacent amino acids Cu-I and Cu-II are approximately 12.5 A apart. Cu-II is bound with nearly perfect tetrahedral geometry by residues not within a single monomer, but from each of two monomers of the trimer. The Cu-II site is at the bottom of a 12 A deep solvent channel and is the site to which the substrate (NO2-) binds, as evidenced by difference density maps of substrate-soaked and native crystals.     

Fine particles produced from automotive emissions-control catalysts

High concentrations of metal-containing condensation nuclei have been thermally induced from stabilized catalysts containing chromium, copper, and nickel under conditions closely resembling those found in automobile exhaust. Commercial and developmental catalyst formulations have been found to emit fine particles under a broad range of controlled conditions at temperatures ranging from 185 degrees to 800 degrees C, in filtered air, in a mixture of 3 percent carbon monoxide in molecular nitrogen, and in the product stream of a pulsed flame combustor.