A Glutathione Peroxidase Gene from Litopenaeus vannamei Is Involved in Oxidative Stress Responses and Pathogen Infection Resistance

In shrimp, several glutathione peroxidase (GPX) genes have been cloned and functionally studied. Increasing evidence suggests the genes’ involvement in white spot syndrome virus (WSSV)- or Vibrio alginolyticus-infection resistance. In the present study, a novel GXP gene (LvGPX3) was cloned in Litopenaeus vannamei. Promoter of LvGPX3 was activated by NF-E2-related factor 2. Further study showed that LvGPX3 expression was evidently accelerated by oxidative stress or WSSV or V. alginolyticus infection. Consistently, downregulated expression of LvGPX3 increased the cumulative mortality of WSSV- or V. alginolyticus-infected shrimp. Similar results occurred in shrimp suffering from oxidative stress. Moreover, LvGPX3 was important for enhancing Antimicrobial peptide (AMP) gene expression in S2 cells with lipopolysaccharide treatment. Further, knockdown of LvGPX3 expression significantly suppressed expression of AMPs, such as Penaeidins 2a, Penaeidins 3a and anti-lipopolysaccharide factor 1 in shrimp. AMPs have been proven to be engaged in shrimp WSSV- or V. alginolyticus-infection resistance; it was inferred that LvGPX3 might enhance shrimp immune response under immune challenges, such as increasing expression of AMPs. The regulation mechanism remains to be further studied.     

Genome-Wide Analysis of the Peroxidase Gene Family and Verification of Lignin Synthesis-Related Genes in Watermelon

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is an important horticultural crop worldwide, but peel cracking caused by peel hardness severely decreases its quality. Lignification is one of the important functions of class III peroxidase (PRX), and its accumulation in the plant cell wall leads to cell thickening and wood hardening. For in-depth physiological and genetical understanding, we studied the relationship between peel hardness and lignin accumulation and the role of PRXs affecting peel lignin biosynthesis using genome-wide bioinformatics analysis. The obtained results showed that lignin accumulation gradually increased to form the peel stone cell structure, and tissue lignification led to peel hardness. A total of 79 ClPRXs (class III) were identified using bioinformatics analysis, which were widely distributed on 11 chromosomes. The constructed phylogenetics indicated that ClPRXs were divided into seven groups and eleven subclasses, and gene members of each group had highly conserved intron structures. Repeated pattern analysis showed that deletion and replication events occurred during the process of ClPRX amplification. However, in the whole-protein sequence alignment analysis, high homology was not observed, although all contained four conserved functional sites. Repeated pattern analysis showed that deletion and replication events occurred during ClPRXs’ amplification process. The prediction of the promoter cis-acting element and qRT-PCR analysis in four tissues (leaf, petiole, stem, and peel) showed different expression patterns for tissue specificity, abiotic stress, and hormone response by providing a genetic basis of the ClPRX gene family involved in a variety of physiological processes in plants. To our knowledge, we for the first time report the key roles of two ClPRXs in watermelon peel lignin synthesis. In conclusion, the extensive data collected in this study can be used for additional functional analysis of ClPRXs in watermelon growth and development and hormone and abiotic stress response.     

Interplay between Selenium,Selenoproteins and HIV-1 Replication in Human CD4 T-Lymphocytes

The infection of CD4 T-lymphocytes with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the etiological agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), disrupts cellular homeostasis, increases oxidative stress and interferes with micronutrient metabolism. Viral replication simultaneously increases the demand for micronutrients and causes their loss, as for selenium (Se). In HIV-infected patients, selenium deficiency was associated with a lower CD4 T-cell count and a shorter life expectancy. Selenium has an important role in antioxidant defense, redox signaling and redox homeostasis, and most of these biological activities are mediated by its incorporation in an essential family of redox enzymes, namely the selenoproteins. Here, we have investigated how selenium and selenoproteins interplay with HIV infection in different cellular models of human CD4 T lymphocytes derived from established cell lines (Jurkat and SupT1) and isolated primary CD4 T cells. First, we characterized the expression of the selenoproteome in various human T-cell models and found it tightly regulated by the selenium level of the culture media, which was in agreement with reports from non-immune cells. Then, we showed that selenium had no significant effect on HIV-1 protein production nor on infectivity, but slightly reduced the percentage of infected cells in a Jurkat cell line and isolated primary CD4 T cells. Finally, in response to HIV-1 infection, the selenoproteome was slightly altered.     

The Enzymatic and Non-Enzymatic Antioxidant System Response of the Seagrass Cymodocea nodosa to Bisphenol-A Toxicity

The effects of environmentally relevant bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations (0.3, 1 and 3 μg L⁻¹) were tested at 2, 4, 6 and 8 days, on intermediate leaves, of the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production, lipid peroxidation, protein, phenolic content and antioxidant enzyme activities were investigated. Increased H₂O₂ formation was detected even at the lowest BPA treatments from the beginning of the experiment and both the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense mechanisms were activated upon application of BPA. Elevated H₂O₂ levels that were detected as a response to increasing BPA concentrations and incubation time, led to the decrease of protein content on the 4th day even at the two lower BPA concentrations, and to the increase of the lipid peroxidation at the highest concentration. However, on the 6th day of BPA exposure, protein content did not differ from the control, indicating the ability of both the enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms (such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and phenolics) to counteract the BPA-derived oxidative stress. The early response of the protein content determined that the Low Effect Concentration (LOEC) of BPA is 0.3 μg L⁻¹ and that the protein content meets the requirements to be considered as a possible early warning “biomarker” for C. nodosa against BPA toxicity.     

基于氮掺杂碳纳米颗粒荧光猝灭-恢复方法检测还原型谷胱甘肽

分别以海藻酸钠和色氨酸为碳源和氮源,采用固相法一步合成出了量子产率为47.9%的氮掺杂荧光碳纳米颗粒(N-CNPs)。根据铜离子存在的条件下,N-CNPs荧光强度的恢复情况与还原型谷胱甘肽浓度成正比的关系,建立基于N-CNPs检测还原型谷胱甘肽的新方法。优化了溶液pH及反应时间等条件。在pH 6.0、铜离子浓度30μmol/L条件下,谷胱甘肽在0.2~45μmol/L浓度范围内与N-CNPs荧光恢复强度呈良好的线性关系,检出限为50 nmol/L。方法具有灵敏度高、选择性好、操作简单等优点,可用于实际样品中谷胱甘肽的检测。     

固定化黄孢原毛平革菌合成木素过氧化物酶

用聚氨酯泡沫块固定黄孢原毛平革菌（Ｐｈａｎｅｒｏｃｈａｅｔｅ ｃｈｒｙｓｏｓｐｏｒｉｕｍ）,在摇瓶条件下研究了合成木素过氧化物酶的特点和重要影响因素。固定化培养与游离菌线球培养相比,最高酶活提高６４％．固定化细胞重复利用４批仍保持较高的产酶活性。高剪应力对酶活有抑制作用。苯甲醇可以代替藜芦醇强化木素过氧化物酶的合成,其最佳浓度为５．２ｍＭ。利用自制的相相流化床反应器进行了间歇产酶试验,发现最佳通气     

反相微乳液酶催化合成木质素-对甲酚共聚物

采用一种全新的反相微乳液体系 :十六烷基三甲基溴化铵 正丁醇 异辛烷 水 ,用辣根过氧化物酶催化合成木质素对甲酚共聚物 ,证实了反应的可行性。红外光谱的结果表明木质素与对甲酚发生了聚合反应 ,差示扫描量热分析的结果表明引入对甲酚改善了木质素的热性能。讨论了该聚合过程中酶浓度 ,活性剂浓度 ,W0 :c(H2 O) c(CTAB) ,酚浓度 ,木质素浓度 ,醇烃比对分子量的影响 .回归实验数据得出控制分子量大小的关联式 ,平均偏差为 8.7%。     

酶催化水溶性导电聚苯胺的模板导向合成与表征

对辣根过氧化物酶(HRP)催化水溶性导电聚苯胺的合成进行了研究.以聚乙烯磺酸钠(PVS)作为反应的聚阴离子模板.详细地研究了反应体系的pH值、H2O2浓度及苯胺与PVS的摩尔比对苯胺聚合的影响.用UV-vis-near-IR、FTIR及四探针电导率测试仪对产物进行了表征,并与其他模板聚合产物进行了比较.研究结果表明,PVS可作为HRP催化苯胺聚合的模板,合成的PVS/PANI的电导率为4.78×10-1S·cm-1,反应体系的pH值应控制在4.0～5.0,H2O2浓度以20 mmol·L-1为宜,PVS与苯胺的摩尔比应控制在1～1.5.     

光温条件对新疆雪莲愈伤组织反应器培养后再分化能力的影响

研究了光质、光周期、昼夜温差和低温处理时间对反应器大规模培养后的新疆雪莲愈伤组织再分化能力的影响. 实验结果表明,长波长光更有利于愈伤组织的再分化. 光照时间显著影响愈伤组织的再分化能力,光照时间为16 h/d时愈伤组织的分化频率和平均出芽数达到最大,分别为76.7%和1.8个/块. 昼夜温差与愈伤组织的再分化能力呈显著负相关. 与水母雪莲不同,低温处理并不利于新疆雪莲愈伤组织的再分化. 新疆雪莲愈伤组织的再分化能力与同工酶的种类和活性密切相关.     

氢供体组与辣根过氧化酶活性光谱研究

对邻苯二酚-苯胺和苯酚-氨基安替吡啉构成的两组测定HRP酶活性的体系进行了研究和比较。紫外可见光光谱和高效液相色谱分析表明,在HRP催化过程中,邻苯二酚-苯胺氢供体对会生成为一种粉红色产物,该产物最大吸收波长在510咖,可用于HRP的活性测量。且与常规使用的苯酚-氨基安替吡啉氢供体对的情况相比,具有更高的灵敏度、更低的检测限值和很好的重复性,在对HRP分别进行20次酶活测量,所得相对标准偏差仅为2．9％。使用邻苯二酚-苯胺氢供体对的方法可计算得到酶动力学参数Km（12．5mM）和Vmax（12．2mMmin^-1mg^-1）。