AIM： The GFAP was traditionally considered to be a biomarker for neural gila （mainly astrocytes and nonmyelinating Schwann cells）. Genetically, a 2.2-kb human GFAP promoter has been successfully used to target astr...AIM： The GFAP was traditionally considered to be a biomarker for neural gila （mainly astrocytes and nonmyelinating Schwann cells）. Genetically, a 2.2-kb human GFAP promoter has been successfully used to target astrocytes in vitro and in vivo. More recently, GFAP was also established as one of the several makers for identifying hepatic stellate cells （HSC）. In this project, possible application of the same 2.2-kb human GFAP promoter for targeting HSC was investigated. METHODS： The GFAP-lacZ transgene was transfected into various cell lines （HSC, hepatocyte, and other nonHSC cell types）. The transgene expression specificity was determined by X-gal staining of the β-galactosidase activity. And the responsiveness of the transgene was tested with a typical pro-fibrotic cytokine TGF-β1. The expression of endogenous GFAP gene was assessed by real-time RT-PCR, providing a reference for the transgene expression. RESULTS： The results demonstrated for the first time that the 2.2 kb hGFAP promoter was not only capable of directing HSC-specific expression, but also responding to a known pro-fibrogenic cytokine TGF-β1 by upregulation in a doseand time-dependent manner, similar to the endogenous GFAP. CONCLUSION： In conclusion, these findings suggested novel utilities for using the GFAP promoter to specifically manipulate HSC for therapeutic purpose.展开更多
After deregulating the purine and riboflavin synthesis in the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis,it is critical to amplify riboflavin operon with appropriate dosage in the host strain for remarkable increase of...After deregulating the purine and riboflavin synthesis in the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis,it is critical to amplify riboflavin operon with appropriate dosage in the host strain for remarkable increase of riboflavin production.Bacillus subtilis RH13, a riboflavin-producing strain, was selected as host strain in the construction of engineering strains by protoplast fusion. The integrative plasmid pRB63 and autonomous plasmid pRB49, pRB62 containing riboflavin operon of B.subtilis 24 were constructed and transformed into the host strain respectively. Increasing one operon copy in B.subtilis RH13 results in about 0.4 g/L improvement in riboflavin yield and the appropriate number of operon copies was about 7—8. Amplifying more riboflavin operons is of no use for further improvement of yield of riboflavin. Furthermore, excessive operon dosage results in metabolic unbalance and is fatal to the host cells producing riboflavin.展开更多
Background： o-galactosidase has been widely used in animal husbandry to reduce anti-nutritional factors （such as o-galactoside） in feed. Intestine-specific and substrate inducible expression of a-galactosidase woul...Background： o-galactosidase has been widely used in animal husbandry to reduce anti-nutritional factors （such as o-galactoside） in feed. Intestine-specific and substrate inducible expression of a-galactosidase would be highly beneficial for transgenic animal production. Methods： To achieve the intestine-specific and substrate inducible expression of o-galactosidase, we first identified intestine-specific promoters by comparing the transcriptional activity and tissue specificity of four intestine-specific promoters from human intestinal fatty acid binding protein, rat intestinal fatty acid binding protein, human mucin-2 and human lysozyme. We made two chimeric constructs combining the promoter and enhancer of human mucin-2, rat intestinal trefoil factor and human sucrase-isomaltase. Then a modified lac operon system was constructed to investigate the induction of o-galactosidase expression and enzyme activity by isopropyl p-D-]-thiogalactopyranoside （IPTG） and an a-galactosidase substrate, a-lactose. We declared that the research carried out on human （Zhai Yafeng） was in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration and experimental research on animals also followed internationally recognized guidelines. Results： The activity of the human mucin-2 promoter was about 2 to 3 times higher than that of other intestine-specific promoters. In the/ac operon system, the repressor significantly decreased （P 〈 0.05） luciferase activity by approximately 6.5-fold and reduced the percentage of cells expressing green fluorescent protein （GFP） by approximately 2-fold. In addition, the expression level of o-galactosidase mRNA was decreased by 6-fold and a-galactosidase activity was reduced by 8-fold. in line with our expectations, IPTG and a-lactose supplementation reversed （P 〈 O.O5） the inhibition and produced a 5-fold increase of luciferase activity, an 11-fold enhancement in the percentage of cells with GFP expression and an increase in o-galactosidase mfiNA abundance （by about 5-fold） and o-ga展开更多
Participation of Pseudomonas putida-derived methyl phenol（dmp） operon and Dmp R protein in the biodegradation of phenol or other harmful, organic, toxic pollutants was investigated at a molecular level. Documentatio...Participation of Pseudomonas putida-derived methyl phenol（dmp） operon and Dmp R protein in the biodegradation of phenol or other harmful, organic, toxic pollutants was investigated at a molecular level. Documentation documents that P. putida has Dmp R protein which positively regulates dmp operon in the presence of inducers; like phenols. From the operon,phenol hydroxylase encoded by dmp N gene, participates in degrading phenols after dmp operon is expressed. For the purpose, the 3-D models of the four domains from Dmp R protein and of the DNA sequences from the two Upstream Activation Sequences（UAS）present at the promoter region of the operon were demonstrated using discrete molecular modeling techniques. The best modeled structures satisfying their stereo-chemical properties were selected in each of the cases. To stabilize the individual structures, energy optimization was performed. In the presence of inducers, probable interactions among domains and then the two independent DNA structures with the fourth domain were perused by manifold molecular docking simulations. The complex structures were made to be stable by minimizing their overall energy. Responsible amino acid residues, nucleotide bases and binding patterns for the biodegradation, were examined. In the presence of the inducers, the biodegradation process is initiated by the interaction of phe50 from the first protein domain with the inducers. Only after the interaction of the last domain with the DNA sequences individually, the operon is expressed. This novel residue level study is paramount for initiating transcription in the operon; thereby leading to expression of phenol hydroxylase followed by phenol biodegradation.展开更多
Environmental arsenic(As) contamination,considered as the largest mass poisoning of the human population,has become a serious health concern for the people of South East Asia,including those living in the Bengal delta...Environmental arsenic(As) contamination,considered as the largest mass poisoning of the human population,has become a serious health concern for the people of South East Asia,including those living in the Bengal delta.An As-resistant strain,KUMAs15,was isolated from the As-contaminated fields in Nadia Ddistrict in West Bengal,India and was evaluated for its possible use in environmental As bioremediation.Molecular identification based on 16S rDNA gene sequencing revealed that the strain belonged to the genus Micrococcus.The strain tolerated high levels of As and oxidized arsenite under the culture condition.The strain also accumulated large quantities of As when exposed to a wide range of environmentally relevant concentrations of inorganic As.Analysis of the aoxB,arsB,and arsC gene expression explained the underlying cause of arsenite oxidation and As accumulation by KUMAs15.The As-resistant strain KUMAs15 of Micrococcus sp.was suggested to be a potential environmental As decontaminant.展开更多
Microbial redox reactions of inorganic sulfur compounds are one of the important reactions responsible for the recycling of this element to maintain the environmental sulfur balance. These reactions are carried out by...Microbial redox reactions of inorganic sulfur compounds are one of the important reactions responsible for the recycling of this element to maintain the environmental sulfur balance. These reactions are carried out by phylogenetically diverse set of microorganisms. The sulfur oxidizing gene cluster (sox) of thermo-neutrophilic bacterium Hydrogenobacter thermophilus consists of soxYZAXB. The bacterium shows optimal thiosulfate oxidation activity at 60°C. There are practically no reports regarding the structural biology of the sulfur oxidation proc- ess in this organism. In the present context, we employed homology modeling to construct the three dimensional structures of SoxY and SoxZ from Hydrogenobacter thermophilus. With the help of docking simulations we have identified the amino acid residues of these proteins in- volved in the interactions. The thermodynamics of the protein-protein interactions have also been analyzed. The probable biochemical mechanism of the binding of thiosulfate has been elucidated. Our study provides a rational framework to understand the molecular mechanism of the sulfur oxidation biochemistry.展开更多
The gram-negative bacterium Acetobacter xylinum synthesizes an extracellular ribbon of cellulose microfibrils that possess unique structural and mechanical properties when compared to higher plant cellulose. All four...The gram-negative bacterium Acetobacter xylinum synthesizes an extracellular ribbon of cellulose microfibrils that possess unique structural and mechanical properties when compared to higher plant cellulose. All four genes in the cellulose-synthesizing operon (ayacs operon) of A. xylinum Ay201 were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotide primers designed according to published acs operon sequence of A. xylinum ATCC 53582. Alignment of the two operons showed that they were highly homologous (98% similarity, 97% identity). AcsA and acsB gene were cloned in pCAMBIA 1301 vector while acsC and acsD were cloned in pCOB302-3 under the control of CaM 35S promoter. The constructs were introduced into cotton by the pollen-tube-pathway method and seeds obtained from putative transgenic plants were germinated on media containing hygromycin and phosphinothricin (PPT). Five seedlings out of 934 seeds were proved to contain all four foreign genes by PCR amplification. This is the first time that a whole operon encoding four different bacterial enzymes with various biological functions is transformed into cultivated cotton plants.展开更多
The organization of ribosomal proteins in 16 prokaryotic genomes was studied as an example of comparative genome analyses of gene systems. Hypothetical ribosomal protein-containing operons were constructed. These oper...The organization of ribosomal proteins in 16 prokaryotic genomes was studied as an example of comparative genome analyses of gene systems. Hypothetical ribosomal protein-containing operons were constructed. These operons also contained putative genes and other non-ribosomal genes. The correspondences among these genes across different organisms were clarified by sequence homology computations. In this way a cross tabulation of 70 ribosomal proteins genes was constructed. On average, these were organized into 9-14 operons in each genome. There were also 25 non-ribosomal or putative genes in these mainly ribosomal protein operons. Hence the table contains 95 genes in total. It was found that: (i) the conservation of the block of about 20 r-proteins in the L3 and L4 operons across almost the entire eubacteria and ar-chaebacteria is remarkable; (ii) some operons only belong to eubacteria or archaebacte-ria; (iii) although the ribosomal protein operons are highly conserved within domain, there are fine variations in some operons across different organisms within each domain, and these variations are informative on the evolutionary relations among the organisms. This method provides a new potential for studying the origin and evolution of old species.展开更多
High-density tiling arrays provide closer view of transcription than regular microarrays and can also be used for annotating functional elements in genomes. The identified transcripts usually have a complex overlappin...High-density tiling arrays provide closer view of transcription than regular microarrays and can also be used for annotating functional elements in genomes. The identified transcripts usually have a complex overlapping architecture when compared to the existing genome annotation. Therefore, there is a need for customized tiling array data analysis tools. Since most of the initial tiling arrays were conducted in eukaryotes, data analysis methods are well suited for eukaryofic genomes. For using whole-genome tiling arrays to identify previously unknown transcriptional elements like small RNA and antisense RNA in prokaryotes, existing data analysis tools need to be tailored for prokaryotic genome architecture. Furthermore, automation of such custom data analysis workflow is necessary for biologists to apply this powerful platform for knowledge discovery. Here we describe TAAPP, a web-based package that consists of two modules for prokaryotic tiling array data analysis. The transcript generation module works on normalized data to generate transcriptionally active regions （TARs）. The feature extraction and annotation module then maps TARs to existing genome annotation. This module further categorizes the transcription profile into potential novel non-coding RNA, antisense RNA, gene expression and operon structures. The implemented workflow is microarray platform independent and is presented as a web-based service. The web interface is freely available for acedemic use at http：//lims.lshi.mafes.msstate.edu/TAAPP-HTML/.展开更多
基金Supported by the Biomedical Research Councilthe Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology,the Republic of Singapore
文摘AIM： The GFAP was traditionally considered to be a biomarker for neural gila （mainly astrocytes and nonmyelinating Schwann cells）. Genetically, a 2.2-kb human GFAP promoter has been successfully used to target astrocytes in vitro and in vivo. More recently, GFAP was also established as one of the several makers for identifying hepatic stellate cells （HSC）. In this project, possible application of the same 2.2-kb human GFAP promoter for targeting HSC was investigated. METHODS： The GFAP-lacZ transgene was transfected into various cell lines （HSC, hepatocyte, and other nonHSC cell types）. The transgene expression specificity was determined by X-gal staining of the β-galactosidase activity. And the responsiveness of the transgene was tested with a typical pro-fibrotic cytokine TGF-β1. The expression of endogenous GFAP gene was assessed by real-time RT-PCR, providing a reference for the transgene expression. RESULTS： The results demonstrated for the first time that the 2.2 kb hGFAP promoter was not only capable of directing HSC-specific expression, but also responding to a known pro-fibrogenic cytokine TGF-β1 by upregulation in a doseand time-dependent manner, similar to the endogenous GFAP. CONCLUSION： In conclusion, these findings suggested novel utilities for using the GFAP promoter to specifically manipulate HSC for therapeutic purpose.
文摘After deregulating the purine and riboflavin synthesis in the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis,it is critical to amplify riboflavin operon with appropriate dosage in the host strain for remarkable increase of riboflavin production.Bacillus subtilis RH13, a riboflavin-producing strain, was selected as host strain in the construction of engineering strains by protoplast fusion. The integrative plasmid pRB63 and autonomous plasmid pRB49, pRB62 containing riboflavin operon of B.subtilis 24 were constructed and transformed into the host strain respectively. Increasing one operon copy in B.subtilis RH13 results in about 0.4 g/L improvement in riboflavin yield and the appropriate number of operon copies was about 7—8. Amplifying more riboflavin operons is of no use for further improvement of yield of riboflavin. Furthermore, excessive operon dosage results in metabolic unbalance and is fatal to the host cells producing riboflavin.
基金supported by the National Key Project (2009CB941601, 2008ZX08006-004 and 2009ZX0890-024B)the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (u0731004)
文摘Background： o-galactosidase has been widely used in animal husbandry to reduce anti-nutritional factors （such as o-galactoside） in feed. Intestine-specific and substrate inducible expression of a-galactosidase would be highly beneficial for transgenic animal production. Methods： To achieve the intestine-specific and substrate inducible expression of o-galactosidase, we first identified intestine-specific promoters by comparing the transcriptional activity and tissue specificity of four intestine-specific promoters from human intestinal fatty acid binding protein, rat intestinal fatty acid binding protein, human mucin-2 and human lysozyme. We made two chimeric constructs combining the promoter and enhancer of human mucin-2, rat intestinal trefoil factor and human sucrase-isomaltase. Then a modified lac operon system was constructed to investigate the induction of o-galactosidase expression and enzyme activity by isopropyl p-D-]-thiogalactopyranoside （IPTG） and an a-galactosidase substrate, a-lactose. We declared that the research carried out on human （Zhai Yafeng） was in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration and experimental research on animals also followed internationally recognized guidelines. Results： The activity of the human mucin-2 promoter was about 2 to 3 times higher than that of other intestine-specific promoters. In the/ac operon system, the repressor significantly decreased （P 〈 0.05） luciferase activity by approximately 6.5-fold and reduced the percentage of cells expressing green fluorescent protein （GFP） by approximately 2-fold. In addition, the expression level of o-galactosidase mRNA was decreased by 6-fold and a-galactosidase activity was reduced by 8-fold. in line with our expectations, IPTG and a-lactose supplementation reversed （P 〈 O.O5） the inhibition and produced a 5-fold increase of luciferase activity, an 11-fold enhancement in the percentage of cells with GFP expression and an increase in o-galactosidase mfiNA abundance （by about 5-fold） and o-ga
基金deeply indebted to DST-PURSE program 2012–2015 going on in Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Kalyani for providing different equipments and essential infrastructural supportDeep gratitude is extended to DBT sponsored Bioinformatics Infrastructure Facility in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Kalyani for the necessary support
文摘Participation of Pseudomonas putida-derived methyl phenol（dmp） operon and Dmp R protein in the biodegradation of phenol or other harmful, organic, toxic pollutants was investigated at a molecular level. Documentation documents that P. putida has Dmp R protein which positively regulates dmp operon in the presence of inducers; like phenols. From the operon,phenol hydroxylase encoded by dmp N gene, participates in degrading phenols after dmp operon is expressed. For the purpose, the 3-D models of the four domains from Dmp R protein and of the DNA sequences from the two Upstream Activation Sequences（UAS）present at the promoter region of the operon were demonstrated using discrete molecular modeling techniques. The best modeled structures satisfying their stereo-chemical properties were selected in each of the cases. To stabilize the individual structures, energy optimization was performed. In the presence of inducers, probable interactions among domains and then the two independent DNA structures with the fourth domain were perused by manifold molecular docking simulations. The complex structures were made to be stable by minimizing their overall energy. Responsible amino acid residues, nucleotide bases and binding patterns for the biodegradation, were examined. In the presence of the inducers, the biodegradation process is initiated by the interaction of phe50 from the first protein domain with the inducers. Only after the interaction of the last domain with the DNA sequences individually, the operon is expressed. This novel residue level study is paramount for initiating transcription in the operon; thereby leading to expression of phenol hydroxylase followed by phenol biodegradation.
基金supported by the financial grant received from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India (No. BT/PR4693/BCE/8/894/2012)
文摘Environmental arsenic(As) contamination,considered as the largest mass poisoning of the human population,has become a serious health concern for the people of South East Asia,including those living in the Bengal delta.An As-resistant strain,KUMAs15,was isolated from the As-contaminated fields in Nadia Ddistrict in West Bengal,India and was evaluated for its possible use in environmental As bioremediation.Molecular identification based on 16S rDNA gene sequencing revealed that the strain belonged to the genus Micrococcus.The strain tolerated high levels of As and oxidized arsenite under the culture condition.The strain also accumulated large quantities of As when exposed to a wide range of environmentally relevant concentrations of inorganic As.Analysis of the aoxB,arsB,and arsC gene expression explained the underlying cause of arsenite oxidation and As accumulation by KUMAs15.The As-resistant strain KUMAs15 of Micrococcus sp.was suggested to be a potential environmental As decontaminant.
文摘Microbial redox reactions of inorganic sulfur compounds are one of the important reactions responsible for the recycling of this element to maintain the environmental sulfur balance. These reactions are carried out by phylogenetically diverse set of microorganisms. The sulfur oxidizing gene cluster (sox) of thermo-neutrophilic bacterium Hydrogenobacter thermophilus consists of soxYZAXB. The bacterium shows optimal thiosulfate oxidation activity at 60°C. There are practically no reports regarding the structural biology of the sulfur oxidation proc- ess in this organism. In the present context, we employed homology modeling to construct the three dimensional structures of SoxY and SoxZ from Hydrogenobacter thermophilus. With the help of docking simulations we have identified the amino acid residues of these proteins in- volved in the interactions. The thermodynamics of the protein-protein interactions have also been analyzed. The probable biochemical mechanism of the binding of thiosulfate has been elucidated. Our study provides a rational framework to understand the molecular mechanism of the sulfur oxidation biochemistry.
文摘The gram-negative bacterium Acetobacter xylinum synthesizes an extracellular ribbon of cellulose microfibrils that possess unique structural and mechanical properties when compared to higher plant cellulose. All four genes in the cellulose-synthesizing operon (ayacs operon) of A. xylinum Ay201 were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotide primers designed according to published acs operon sequence of A. xylinum ATCC 53582. Alignment of the two operons showed that they were highly homologous (98% similarity, 97% identity). AcsA and acsB gene were cloned in pCAMBIA 1301 vector while acsC and acsD were cloned in pCOB302-3 under the control of CaM 35S promoter. The constructs were introduced into cotton by the pollen-tube-pathway method and seeds obtained from putative transgenic plants were germinated on media containing hygromycin and phosphinothricin (PPT). Five seedlings out of 934 seeds were proved to contain all four foreign genes by PCR amplification. This is the first time that a whole operon encoding four different bacterial enzymes with various biological functions is transformed into cultivated cotton plants.
文摘The organization of ribosomal proteins in 16 prokaryotic genomes was studied as an example of comparative genome analyses of gene systems. Hypothetical ribosomal protein-containing operons were constructed. These operons also contained putative genes and other non-ribosomal genes. The correspondences among these genes across different organisms were clarified by sequence homology computations. In this way a cross tabulation of 70 ribosomal proteins genes was constructed. On average, these were organized into 9-14 operons in each genome. There were also 25 non-ribosomal or putative genes in these mainly ribosomal protein operons. Hence the table contains 95 genes in total. It was found that: (i) the conservation of the block of about 20 r-proteins in the L3 and L4 operons across almost the entire eubacteria and ar-chaebacteria is remarkable; (ii) some operons only belong to eubacteria or archaebacte-ria; (iii) although the ribosomal protein operons are highly conserved within domain, there are fine variations in some operons across different organisms within each domain, and these variations are informative on the evolutionary relations among the organisms. This method provides a new potential for studying the origin and evolution of old species.
基金supported by a grant from the National Science foundation of USA (Mississippi EPSCoR-0903787)
文摘High-density tiling arrays provide closer view of transcription than regular microarrays and can also be used for annotating functional elements in genomes. The identified transcripts usually have a complex overlapping architecture when compared to the existing genome annotation. Therefore, there is a need for customized tiling array data analysis tools. Since most of the initial tiling arrays were conducted in eukaryotes, data analysis methods are well suited for eukaryofic genomes. For using whole-genome tiling arrays to identify previously unknown transcriptional elements like small RNA and antisense RNA in prokaryotes, existing data analysis tools need to be tailored for prokaryotic genome architecture. Furthermore, automation of such custom data analysis workflow is necessary for biologists to apply this powerful platform for knowledge discovery. Here we describe TAAPP, a web-based package that consists of two modules for prokaryotic tiling array data analysis. The transcript generation module works on normalized data to generate transcriptionally active regions （TARs）. The feature extraction and annotation module then maps TARs to existing genome annotation. This module further categorizes the transcription profile into potential novel non-coding RNA, antisense RNA, gene expression and operon structures. The implemented workflow is microarray platform independent and is presented as a web-based service. The web interface is freely available for acedemic use at http：//lims.lshi.mafes.msstate.edu/TAAPP-HTML/.
