Loss-of-function mutations in the ethylene receptor ETR1 cause enhanced sensitivity and exaggerated response to ethylene in Arabidopsis.
(49/970)
Ethylene signaling in Arabidopsis begins at a family of five ethylene receptors that regulate activity of a downstream mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase, CTR1. Triple and quadruple loss-of-function ethylene receptor mutants display a constitutive ethylene response phenotype, indicating they function as negative regulators in this pathway. No ethylene-related phenotype has been described for single loss-of-function receptor mutants, although it was reported that etr1 loss-of-function mutants display a growth defect limiting plant size. In actuality, this apparent growth defect results from enhanced responsiveness to ethylene; a phenotype manifested in all tissues tested. The phenotype displayed by etr1 loss-of-function mutants was rescued by treatment with an inhibitor of ethylene perception, indicating that it is ethylene dependent. Identification of an ethylene-dependent phenotype for a loss-of-function receptor mutant gave a unique opportunity for genetic and biochemical analysis of upstream events in ethylene signaling, including demonstration that the dominant ethylene-insensitive phenotype of etr2-1 is partially dependent on ETR1. This work demonstrates that mutational loss of the ethylene receptor ETR1 alters responsiveness to ethylene in Arabidopsis and that enhanced ethylene response in Arabidopsis not only results in increased sensitivity but exaggeration of response. (+info)
Rhamnolipid stimulates uptake of hydrophobic compounds by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
(50/970)
The biodegradation of hexadecane by five biosurfactant-producing bacterial strains (Pseudomonas aeruginosa UG2, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus RAG1, Rhodococcus erythropolis DSM 43066, R. erythropolis ATCC 19558, and strain BCG112) was determined in the presence and absence of exogenously added biosurfactants. The degradation of hexadecane by P. aeruginosa was stimulated only by the rhamnolipid biosurfactant produced by the same organism. This rhamnolipid did not stimulate the biodegradation of hexadecane by the four other strains to the same extent, nor was degradation of hexadecane by these strains stimulated by addition of their own biosurfactants. This suggests that P. aeruginosa has a mode of hexadecane uptake different from those of the other organisms. Rhamnolipid also enhanced the rate of epoxidation of the aliphatic hydrocarbon alpha,omega-tetradecadiene by a cell suspension of P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, the uptake of the hydrophobic probe 1-naphthylphenylamine by cells of P. aeruginosa was enhanced by rhamnolipid, as indicated by stopped-flow fluorescence experiments. Rhamnolipid did not stimulate the uptake rate of this probe in de-energized cells. These results indicate that an energy-dependent system is present in P. aeruginosa strain UG2 that mediates fast uptake of hydrophobic compounds in the presence of rhamnolipid. (+info)
A 9,10-anthraquinone derivative having two propenyl arms as a neutral ionophore for highly selective and sensitive membrane sensors for copper(II) ion.
(51/970)
New polymeric membrane (PME) and coated graphite (CGE) copper(II)-selective electrodes based on 1-hydroxy-2-(prop-2'-enyl)-4-(prop-2'-enyloxy)-9,10-anthraquinone were prepared. The electrodes reveal linear emf-pCu2+ responses over wide concentration ranges (1.0 x 10(-5)-1.0 x 10(-1) M with a slope of 27.3 mV decade-1 for PME and 8.0 x 10(-8)-5.0 x 10(-2) M with a slope of 29.1 mV decade-1 for CGE) and very low limits of detection (8.0 x 10(-6) M for PME and 5.0 x 10(-8) M for CGE). The potentiometric response is independent of the pH of the test solution in the pH range 3.0-6.0. The proposed electrodes possess very good selectivities over a wide variety of other cations, including alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions, the selectivity coefficients for the CGE being much improved over those for the PME. The electrodes were used as indicator electrodes in the potentiometric titration of Cu2+ and in the recovery of copper ions from wastewater. (+info)
Synthesis of 1,2-oxygenated 6-arylfurofuran lignan: stereoselective synthesis of (1S,2S,5R,6S)-1-hydroxysamin.
(52/970)
(1S,2S,5R,6S)-6-(3,4-Methylenedioxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octan-1,2-diol ((+)-1-hydroxysamin 1) was synthesized, starting from olefin 8. Stereoselective alpha-hydroxylation was achieved after converting 8 to aldehyde 13. Resulting unstable alpha-hydroxy aldehyde 14 was then transformed to (+)-1-hydroxysamin (1). This is a new efficient synthetic route to 1,2-oxygenated 6-arylfurofuran lignans. (+info)
New biologically active marine sesquiterpenoid and steroid from the okinawan sponge of the genus Axinyssa.
(53/970)
A new bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoid, (E)-3-isocyanobisabolane-7,10-diene (1), and a new epidioxyergostane-type steroid, 9(11)-dehydroaxinysterol (2), were isolated from the Okinawan sponge of the genus Axinyssa. Their structures were elucidated based on the results of spectroscopic analysis and chemical conversion. Epidioxysterol 2 was found to show significant growth inhibitory effects against human cancer cell lines. (+info)
Stereoselective synthesis of tetrasubstituted (Z)-alkenes from aryl alkyl ketones utilizing the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction.
(54/970)
Tetrasubstituted (Z)-alkenes were readily prepared through the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reactions of methyl 2-[bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)phosphono]propionate with aryl alkyl ketones by employing Sn(OSO(2)CF(3))(2) and N-ethylpiperidine. (+info)
P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase dephosphorylation is regulated by protein phosphatase 2A in human platelets activated by collagen.
(55/970)
Collagen and the cross-linked collagen-related peptide (CRP-XL) each induced platelet p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38) phosphorylation after 2 min. Subsequent dephosphorylation occurred in platelets activated with collagen, but not with CRP-XL, demonstrating glycoprotein VI-independent regulation of p38. Okadaic acid and fostriecin, inhibitors specific for protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), blocked p38 dephosphorylation, and PP2A co-immunoprecipitated with phospho-p38. In addition, use of phenylarsine oxide suggested that tyrosine phosphatases and PP2A may act in concert to dephosphorylate p38. Finally, regulation of p38 in collagen-stimulated Glanzmann's platelets was indistinguishable from that in normal platelets, showing that p38 regulation is independent of integrin alphaIIbbeta3. (+info)
Stomatal constraints may affect emission of oxygenated monoterpenoids from the foliage of Pinus pinea.
(56/970)
Dependence of monoterpenoid emission and fractional composition on stomatal conductance (G(V)) was studied in Mediterranean conifer Pinus pinea, which primarily emits limonene and trans-beta-ocimene but also large fractions of oxygenated monoterpenoids linalool and 1,8-cineole. Strong decreases in G(V) attributable to diurnal water stress were accompanied by a significant reduction in total monoterpenoid emission rate in midday. However, various monoterpenoids responded differently to the reduction in G(V), with the emission rates of limonene and trans-beta-ocimene being unaffected but those of linalool and 1,8-cineole closely following diurnal variability in G(V). A dynamic emission model indicated that stomatal sensitivity of emissions was associated with monoterpenoid Henry's law constant (H, gas/liquid phase partition coefficient). Monoterpenoids with a large H such as trans-beta-ocimene sustain higher intercellular partial pressure for a certain liquid phase concentration, and stomatal closure is balanced by a nearly immediate increase in monoterpene diffusion gradient from intercellular air-space to ambient air. The partial pressure rises also in compounds with a low H, but more than 1,000-fold higher liquid phase concentrations of linalool and 1,8-cineole are necessary to increase intercellular partial pressure high enough to balance stomatal closure. The system response is accordingly slower, and the emission rates may be transiently suppressed by low G(V). Simulations further suggested that linalool and 1,8-cineole synthesis rates also decreased with decreasing G(V), possibly as the result of selective inhibition of various monoterpene synthases by stomata. We conclude that physicochemical characteristics of volatiles not only affect total emission but also alter the fractional composition of emitted monoterpenoids. (+info)