The Elongator complex is a multifunction protein complex which has been shown to be involved in transcriptional elongation, DNA replication and repair, tubulin and histone acetylation, gene silencing and tranfer RNA u...The Elongator complex is a multifunction protein complex which has been shown to be involved in transcriptional elongation, DNA replication and repair, tubulin and histone acetylation, gene silencing and tranfer RNA uridine modification. The composition of the Elongator complex is found to be highly conserved in eukaryotes, protein homologs of various subunits have been identified in fungi, plant, animal, and human. Remarkably, mutation in genes encoding the Elongator complex structural components all results in defects of transfer RNA wobble uridine modification, and this function of the Elongator complex is also conserved in eukaryotes. The Elongator complex mutants in higher plants have pleiotropic phenotypes including defects in vegetative growth, abiscisic acid hypersensitivity, elevated tolerance to drought and oxidative stress. What is the relationship between the Elongator complex's function in nucleoside modification and its activity in other cellular pathways? This review summarizes the recent advances in study of function of the Elongator complex, in the aspects of cell physiology and molecular biology.展开更多
We have developed a simple method to synthesize 6-seleno-2′-deoxyguanosine(SedG)by selectively replacing the 6-oxygen atom with selenium.This selenium-atom-specific modification(SAM)alters the optical properties of t...We have developed a simple method to synthesize 6-seleno-2′-deoxyguanosine(SedG)by selectively replacing the 6-oxygen atom with selenium.This selenium-atom-specific modification(SAM)alters the optical properties of the naturally occurring2′-deoxyguanosine(dG).Unlike the native dG,the UVabsorption ofSedG is significantly influenced by the pH of the aqueous solution.Moreover,SedG is fluorescent at the physiological pH and exhibits pH-dependent fluorescence in aqueous solutions.Furthermore,SedG has noticeable fluorescence in non-aqueous solutions,indicating its sensitivity to environmental changes.This is the first time a fluorescent nucleoside by single-atom alteration has been observed.Fluorescent nucleosides modified by a single atom have great potential as molecular probes with minimal perturbations to investigate nucleoside interactions with proteins,such as membrane-transporter proteins.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31100268 and 31270658)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (2011PY108)the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, Ministry of Education, China
文摘The Elongator complex is a multifunction protein complex which has been shown to be involved in transcriptional elongation, DNA replication and repair, tubulin and histone acetylation, gene silencing and tranfer RNA uridine modification. The composition of the Elongator complex is found to be highly conserved in eukaryotes, protein homologs of various subunits have been identified in fungi, plant, animal, and human. Remarkably, mutation in genes encoding the Elongator complex structural components all results in defects of transfer RNA wobble uridine modification, and this function of the Elongator complex is also conserved in eukaryotes. The Elongator complex mutants in higher plants have pleiotropic phenotypes including defects in vegetative growth, abiscisic acid hypersensitivity, elevated tolerance to drought and oxidative stress. What is the relationship between the Elongator complex's function in nucleoside modification and its activity in other cellular pathways? This review summarizes the recent advances in study of function of the Elongator complex, in the aspects of cell physiology and molecular biology.
基金financially supported by the US National Science Foundation(NSF,MCB-0824837)the Georgia Cancer Coalition(GCC)Distinguished Cancer Clinicians and Scientists Awards
文摘We have developed a simple method to synthesize 6-seleno-2′-deoxyguanosine(SedG)by selectively replacing the 6-oxygen atom with selenium.This selenium-atom-specific modification(SAM)alters the optical properties of the naturally occurring2′-deoxyguanosine(dG).Unlike the native dG,the UVabsorption ofSedG is significantly influenced by the pH of the aqueous solution.Moreover,SedG is fluorescent at the physiological pH and exhibits pH-dependent fluorescence in aqueous solutions.Furthermore,SedG has noticeable fluorescence in non-aqueous solutions,indicating its sensitivity to environmental changes.This is the first time a fluorescent nucleoside by single-atom alteration has been observed.Fluorescent nucleosides modified by a single atom have great potential as molecular probes with minimal perturbations to investigate nucleoside interactions with proteins,such as membrane-transporter proteins.