Hydrolysis of cellobiose by β-glucosidase in the presence of soil minerals - Interactions at solid-liquid interfaces and effects on enzyme activity levels

Extracellular enzymatic activities in soils are essential for the cycling of organic matter. These activities take place in multiphase environments where solid phases profoundly affect biocatalytic activities. Aspergillus niger is ubiquitous in soils; its β-glucosidase plays an important role in the degradation of cellulose, and therefore in the global carbon cycle and in the turnover of soil organic matter. However, the information on the interactions of this protein with soil minerals is very limited, and even less is known about their consequences for the hydrolysis of the natural substrate cellobiose. We therefore characterised the sorptive interactions of this enzyme with the soil minerals montmorillonite, kaolinite and goethite and quantified the resulting changes in the hydrolysis rate of cellobiose. Fractions of adsorbed protein, and the resulting catalytic activity loss, were lower for montmorillonite than for kaolinite and goethite at given experimental conditions; adsorption was 9.7 ± 7.3% for montmorillonite, 70.3 ± 3.1% for kaolinite and 71.4 ± 1.8% for goethite, respectively. Adsorption of the protein to the minerals caused a total decrease in the catalytic activity of 18.8 ± 3.4% for kaolinite and 17.9 ± 4.7% for goethite whereas it was not significant for montmorillonite. The average catalytic activity lost by the pool of adsorbed molecules was 26.8% for kaolinite and 25.0% for goethite. Both the amount of adsorbed protein and the resulting loss of catalytic activity were found to be independent of the specific surface areas yet were influenced by the electrical properties of the mineral surfaces. Under the experimental conditions, montmorillonite and kaolinite are negatively charged whereas goethite is positively charged. However, because of the adsorption of phosphate anions from the buffer, a charge reversal took place at the surface of goethite. This was confirmed by zeta (ζ)-potential measurements in phosphate buffer, revealing negative values for all the tested minerals. Indeed goethite interacted with the enzyme as a negatively charged surface: the amount of adsorbed protein and the resulting catalytic activity loss were very similar to those of kaolinite. Our results show that, even if an important fraction of β-glucosidase is adsorbed to the minerals, the catalytic activity is largely retained. We suggest that this strong activity retention in presence of soil minerals results from a selective pressure on A. niger, which benefits from the activity of the adsorbed, and thus stabilized, enzyme pool.     

一株聚β-羟基丁酸（PHB）产生菌的分离纯化及鉴定

本研究从土样中分离纯化出一株PHB高产菌株P-9,通过对其进行形态学和生理生化反应特征研究,初步鉴定为苏云金芽孢杆菌（Bacillus thuringiensis）。进一步研究P-9菌的生长规律,发现P-9菌生长的延迟期为0-24 h,24 h后进入对数生长期,同时积累PHB,84 h时细胞进入稳定生长期,108 h时PHB产量达到最大,达1.25 g/L。     

乳腺特异表达载体缺失片段的鉴定与修复

通过对pBC1中的乳腺特异表达启动子成分进行分析,鉴定了位于β酪蛋白启动子上游两个EcoRⅠ位点(-89~-94和-120~-125)之间的缺失片段,31bp的缺失使得该载体中的一个乳控盒元件(-112~-141)和一个乳腺因子识别序列(-92~-102)遭到破坏,并使得位于TATA框上游的所有启动子成分发生了位置改变。通过与山羊β酪蛋白启动子序列进行比较,设计并合成了缺失片段,经一系列的酶切和连接处理,使得该缺失得到了修复,修复后的载体具有所有乳蛋白表达需要的启动子调控原件。本试验结果为利用修复后的乳腺特异高效表达载体进行乳腺生物反应器的研究奠定了分子生物学基础。     

Activities of biotransformation enzymes in pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) and their modulation by in vivo administration of mebendazole and flubendazole

Basal activities of certain pheasant hepatic and intestinal biotransformation enzymes and modulation of their activities by anthelmintics flubendazole (FLBZ) and mebendazole (MBZ) were investigated in subcellular fractions that were prepared from liver and small intestine of control and FLBZ or MBZ treated birds. Several oxidation, reduction and conjugation enzyme activities were assessed. In the liver, treatment of pheasants by FLBZ or MBZ caused very slight or no changes in monooxygenase activities and conjugation enzymes. More significative changes were detected in small intestine. Metyrapone and daunorubicin reductase activities were increased by both substances in the liver. This is the first evidence that certain benzimidazoles modulate reductases of carbonyl group. With respect to the relatively slight extent of the changes caused by FLBZ or MBZ we can assume that repeated administration of therapeutic doses of both FLBZ and MBZ has probably no serious influence on pheasant biotransformation enzyme system.     

Cmponent Study on Flavonoids From Leaves of Dendrocalamus Latiflorus

从麻竹（Dendrocalamus latiflorus）叶中分离得到四个黄酮类化合物。经性质和光谱（UV,IR,MS,1HNMR,13CNMR等）法鉴定其结构,分别为牡荆苷（?）,芦丁（II）,山奈酚-3-O-β-D-芸香糖苷（III）,山奈酚-3-O-β-D-葡萄糖基(1-2)-α-L-鼠李糖苷（IV）。四种化合物均为首次从该植物中得到。     

硫酸酯化酵母β-葡聚糖对H1N1猪流感病毒血凝作用和mRNA转录的影响

为研究硫酸酯化酵母β-葡聚糖对流感病毒血凝抑制作用及对mRNA转录的影响,以猪流感病毒A/tianjin/1/TJ2(H1N1)感染MDCK细胞为模型,采用血凝抑制试验(HI)及SYBR Green Real-time PCR方法,探索硫酸酯化酵母β-葡聚糖对流感病毒血凝抑制作用及其对mRNA转录影响。结果显示,硫酸酯化酵母β-葡聚糖在浓度超过1.25 mg/m L时,能对猪流感病毒血凝产生抑制作用,且在5 mg/m L时对猪流感病毒mRNA转录具有抑制作用。因此,硫酸酯化酵母β-葡聚糖具有抑制流感病毒在MDCK细胞复制的作用,其作用机制可能与抑制流感病毒HA靶点及影响mRNA转录有关。     

Anti-inflammatory, antiviral and quantitative study of quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide in Polygonum perfoliatum L

Quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide, isolated from Polygonum perfoliatum L., was evaluated by antiviral efficacy against influenza A virus and anti-inflammatory activity in vivo in mouse, and it was used for quality evaluation of P. perfoliatum L.. In vivo study, oral administration of quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide significantly suppressed ear edema induced by dimethyl benzene and peritoneal permeability induced by acetic acid in mice, and quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide also showed to possess inhibitory activity against influenza A virus (FLUAV). In the present study, additionally, a rapid, simple and sensitive method for quantitative analysis of quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide in P. perfoliatum L. was developed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with photodiode array detection. The separation was carried out on a Lichrosher-C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) together with a C18 guard column at isocratic elution systems of methanol (A) and 0.05% aqueous phosphoric acid (B) (43:57, v/v) with detection wavelength at 258 nm and column temperature at 30 °C. The method was validated for linearity, repeatability, limit of quantification (LOQ), precision and robustness. The contents of quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide in 28 samples from different regions of China were between 0.06% and 2.09%. The developed analytical method was applied to investigate P. perfoliatum L. and for quality control of the herb.     

In vitro suppression of quercetin on hypertrophy and extracellular matrix accumulation in rat glomerular mesangial cells cultured by high glucose

Quercetin's protective effects on the glomerulosclerosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in rat mesangial cells were investigated. The cell cycles, type IV collagen and laminin, TGF-β₁ mRNA, Smad 2/3 and Smad 7, and activities of cell antioxidases were measured. Compared with the high glucose group, quercetin may decrease the cell percentages of G₀/G₁ phase, Smad 2/3 expression, laminin and type IV collagen, and TGF-β₁ mRNA level significantly. The antioxidant capacity, the cell percentages of S phase and Smad 7 expression was significantly increased by quercetin. These results suggest that quercetin is a protective agent against glomerulosclerosis in DN.     

Composition and diversity of five major forest types in moist temperate climate of the western Himalayas

The present study was undertaken in five major forest types (dominated by Quercus semecarpifolia, Quercus floribunda, Acer acuminatum, Abies pindrow and Aesculus indica, respectively) between 2400 and 2850 m a.s.l. in a moist temperate forest of the Mandal-Chopta area in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. The aim was to assess the variation in composition and diversity in different vegetation layers, i.e., herb, shrub and tree, among these five forest types. Diversity indices, such as the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, density, total basal cover, Simpson’s concentration of dominance index, Simpson’s diversity index, Pielou’s equitability, species richness, species heterogeneity and β-diversity, were calculated to understand community structures. Dominance-diversity curves were drawn to ascertain resource apportionment among various species in different forest types.