Cadmium （Cd） accumulation and toxicity in rice plants were characterized and identified by using brittle culm 1 （bcl）, a fragile rice mutant and its wild type （Shuangkezao, an indica rice） as materials by hydrop...Cadmium （Cd） accumulation and toxicity in rice plants were characterized and identified by using brittle culm 1 （bcl）, a fragile rice mutant and its wild type （Shuangkezao, an indica rice） as materials by hydroponics. The low Cd level didn＇t obviously affect the growth parameters in both rice genotypes, but under high Cd levels （1.0 and 5.0 μmol/L）, the growth of both rice plants were substantially inhibited. Moreover, bcl tended to suffer more seriously from Cd toxicity than Shuangkezao. Cd accumulation in both rice plants increased with the increase of Cd levels. There was a significant difference in Cd accumulation between the two rice genotypes with constantly higher Cd concentration in bcl, which also accumulated more Cd at 0, 0.1, and 1.0 μmol/L Cd levels. The same case was found in the two rice plants grown on Cd-contaminated soil. This suggested that cell wall might play an important role in Cd accumulation in rice plants by the physiological mechanisms. The malondialdehyde （MDA） content, superoxide dismutase （SOD） and peroxidase （POD） activities in rice plants were affected differently under Cd treatments, and which implied that POD might play the main role in detoxifying active oxygen free radical. A significant difference in antioxidative system between the two rice genotypes was found with constantly higher MDA content, SOD and POD activities in bcl. In summary, bcl accumulated more Cd and appeared to be more sensitive to Cd stress compared with its wild type.展开更多
Calcium-release-activated calcium(CARC)channels are one of the major pathways of calcium entry in non-excitable cells.Despite a decade or two of research,its regulatory mechanism is not yet thoroughly understood.The s...Calcium-release-activated calcium(CARC)channels are one of the major pathways of calcium entry in non-excitable cells.Despite a decade or two of research,its regulatory mechanism is not yet thoroughly understood.The slow progress is due to the complexity of its pores(i.e.,Orai)on one hand and the difficulty in capturing its regulatory complex on the other hand.As a result,possible gating mechanisms have often been speculated by exploring the structure and properties of constitutive open mutants.However,there is much debate about how they can truly reflect the gating of CRAC channels under physiological conditions.In the present study,we combined molecular dynamics simulations with free energy calculations to study three dOrai mutants(G170P,H206A,and P288A),and further calculated their current-voltage curves.Results show that these constructs adopt different approaches to maintain their conductive state.Meanwhile they have unique pore structures and distinctive rectification properties and ion selectivity for cations compared to wild-type pores.We conclude that although the mutants may partially capture the gating motion characteristics of wild-type pores,the information obtained from these mutants is likely not a true reflection of CRAC channel gating under physiological conditions.展开更多
The effects of the deficiency of the allergenicα-subunit on soybean amino acid(AA)composition were studied using the cultivar Dongnong 47(DN47)as a genetic background.The near-isogenic line(NIL)NIL-DN47-Δα of DN47,...The effects of the deficiency of the allergenicα-subunit on soybean amino acid(AA)composition were studied using the cultivar Dongnong 47(DN47)as a genetic background.The near-isogenic line(NIL)NIL-DN47-Δα of DN47,with an introgression of theα-null trait allele from the high protein donor parent RiB,was created by marker assisted background selection and used to investigate the AA content and nutritional quality.The contents of crude protein,the total AAs,the total essential amino acids(EAAs)and sulfur-containing(Met and Cys)AAs increased by 4.11%,4.16%,5.20% and 11.96%,respectively in NIL-DN47-Δα compared with DN47.Analyses of the total EAAs(TEAAs)and the EAA index(EAAI)revealed that both parameters in NIL-DN47-Δα were higher than those in DN47.The null-allele of theα-subunit positively affected the AA scores.The quantitative changes in free AAs(FAAs)in the developing seeds of NIL-DN47-Δα and DN47 were compared as of 15 days after flowering(DAF)until maturity.The results showed that the total FAA content in NIL-DN47-Δα was significantly higher than that in the DN47 throughout the late maturation stage(40-60 DAF)of seeds.The high concentration of the FAAs in cgy-2 mutant seeds was a consequence of the high rates of synthesis and/or accumulation of individual FAAs during seed maturation where 25 DAF was an important turning point in the accumulation of the FAAs.The FAA contents of single soybeanα-null,double(α+α′)and triple(α+α′+group I)-null mutant combination lines were investigated.In all of these combinations,introduction of the cgy-2 gene invariably raised the FAA content of mature seeds above that of the DN47.In summary,the enhanced protein quality in cgy-2 mutants resulted from several factors.(1)There was a general increase in the contents of most AAs and FAAs in NIL-DN47-Δα.(2)The induced synthesis of free Arg contributed effectively to the high FAAs of various storage-protein-deficiency mutants.For example,in the S2(null α,group I),the free Arg content was seven times as much as that of DN47,accounting for more than half of the total FAA content in the seed.(3)The increase of sulfur-containing AAs in theα-null type NIL mainly resulted from elevated Met content.These data suggested that the cgy-2 mutation might improve the protein quality of soybean seeds and that lacked of the allergenicα-subunit resulted in increased the FAA content.展开更多
Acetohydroxyacid synthase(AHAS) is the target enzyme of several classes of herbicides,such as sulfonylureas and imidazolinones.Now many mutant AHASs with herbicide resistance have emerged along with extensive use of h...Acetohydroxyacid synthase(AHAS) is the target enzyme of several classes of herbicides,such as sulfonylureas and imidazolinones.Now many mutant AHASs with herbicide resistance have emerged along with extensive use of herbicides,therefore it is imperative to understand the detailed interaction mechanism and resistance mechanism so as to develop new potent inhibitors for wild-type or resistant AHAS.With the aid of available crystal structures of the Arabidopsis thaliana(At) AHAS-inhibitor complex,molecular dynamics(MD) simulations were used to investigate the interaction and resistance mechanism directly and dynamically at the atomic level.Nanosecond-level MD simulations were performed on six systems consisting of wild-type or W574L mutant AtAHAS in the complex with three sulfonylurea inhibitors,separately,and binding free energy was calculated for each system using the MM-GBSA method.Comprehensive analyses from structural and energetic aspects confirmed the importance of residue W574,and also indicated that W574L mutation might alert the structural charactersistic of the substrate access channel and decrease the binding affinity of inhibitors,which cooperatively weaken the effective channel-blocked effect and finally result in weaker inhibitory effect of inhibitor and corresponding herbicide resistance of W574L mutant.To our knowledge,it is the first report about MD simulations study on the AHAS-related system,which will pave the way to study the interactions between herbicides and wild-type or mutant AHAS dynamically,and decipher the resistance mechanism at the atomic level for better designing new potent anti-resistance herbicides.展开更多
文摘Cadmium （Cd） accumulation and toxicity in rice plants were characterized and identified by using brittle culm 1 （bcl）, a fragile rice mutant and its wild type （Shuangkezao, an indica rice） as materials by hydroponics. The low Cd level didn＇t obviously affect the growth parameters in both rice genotypes, but under high Cd levels （1.0 and 5.0 μmol/L）, the growth of both rice plants were substantially inhibited. Moreover, bcl tended to suffer more seriously from Cd toxicity than Shuangkezao. Cd accumulation in both rice plants increased with the increase of Cd levels. There was a significant difference in Cd accumulation between the two rice genotypes with constantly higher Cd concentration in bcl, which also accumulated more Cd at 0, 0.1, and 1.0 μmol/L Cd levels. The same case was found in the two rice plants grown on Cd-contaminated soil. This suggested that cell wall might play an important role in Cd accumulation in rice plants by the physiological mechanisms. The malondialdehyde （MDA） content, superoxide dismutase （SOD） and peroxidase （POD） activities in rice plants were affected differently under Cd treatments, and which implied that POD might play the main role in detoxifying active oxygen free radical. A significant difference in antioxidative system between the two rice genotypes was found with constantly higher MDA content, SOD and POD activities in bcl. In summary, bcl accumulated more Cd and appeared to be more sensitive to Cd stress compared with its wild type.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21773115,No.21833002,No.11771435,and No.22073110)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(No.BK20190056)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(021514380018)。
文摘Calcium-release-activated calcium(CARC)channels are one of the major pathways of calcium entry in non-excitable cells.Despite a decade or two of research,its regulatory mechanism is not yet thoroughly understood.The slow progress is due to the complexity of its pores(i.e.,Orai)on one hand and the difficulty in capturing its regulatory complex on the other hand.As a result,possible gating mechanisms have often been speculated by exploring the structure and properties of constitutive open mutants.However,there is much debate about how they can truly reflect the gating of CRAC channels under physiological conditions.In the present study,we combined molecular dynamics simulations with free energy calculations to study three dOrai mutants(G170P,H206A,and P288A),and further calculated their current-voltage curves.Results show that these constructs adopt different approaches to maintain their conductive state.Meanwhile they have unique pore structures and distinctive rectification properties and ion selectivity for cations compared to wild-type pores.We conclude that although the mutants may partially capture the gating motion characteristics of wild-type pores,the information obtained from these mutants is likely not a true reflection of CRAC channel gating under physiological conditions.
基金Support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31371650,31071440)Northeast Agricultural University Innovation Foundation For Postgraduates(yjscx4042)。
文摘The effects of the deficiency of the allergenicα-subunit on soybean amino acid(AA)composition were studied using the cultivar Dongnong 47(DN47)as a genetic background.The near-isogenic line(NIL)NIL-DN47-Δα of DN47,with an introgression of theα-null trait allele from the high protein donor parent RiB,was created by marker assisted background selection and used to investigate the AA content and nutritional quality.The contents of crude protein,the total AAs,the total essential amino acids(EAAs)and sulfur-containing(Met and Cys)AAs increased by 4.11%,4.16%,5.20% and 11.96%,respectively in NIL-DN47-Δα compared with DN47.Analyses of the total EAAs(TEAAs)and the EAA index(EAAI)revealed that both parameters in NIL-DN47-Δα were higher than those in DN47.The null-allele of theα-subunit positively affected the AA scores.The quantitative changes in free AAs(FAAs)in the developing seeds of NIL-DN47-Δα and DN47 were compared as of 15 days after flowering(DAF)until maturity.The results showed that the total FAA content in NIL-DN47-Δα was significantly higher than that in the DN47 throughout the late maturation stage(40-60 DAF)of seeds.The high concentration of the FAAs in cgy-2 mutant seeds was a consequence of the high rates of synthesis and/or accumulation of individual FAAs during seed maturation where 25 DAF was an important turning point in the accumulation of the FAAs.The FAA contents of single soybeanα-null,double(α+α′)and triple(α+α′+group I)-null mutant combination lines were investigated.In all of these combinations,introduction of the cgy-2 gene invariably raised the FAA content of mature seeds above that of the DN47.In summary,the enhanced protein quality in cgy-2 mutants resulted from several factors.(1)There was a general increase in the contents of most AAs and FAAs in NIL-DN47-Δα.(2)The induced synthesis of free Arg contributed effectively to the high FAAs of various storage-protein-deficiency mutants.For example,in the S2(null α,group I),the free Arg content was seven times as much as that of DN47,accounting for more than half of the total FAA content in the seed.(3)The increase of sulfur-containing AAs in theα-null type NIL mainly resulted from elevated Met content.These data suggested that the cgy-2 mutation might improve the protein quality of soybean seeds and that lacked of the allergenicα-subunit resulted in increased the FAA content.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.20432010, 20421202, and 90713011)the National Key Project for Basic Research (Grant Nos.2008DFA30770 and 2010CB126102)Key Project of Ministry of Education,China (Grant No.104189) and Institute of Scientific Computing (ISC) of Nankai University
文摘Acetohydroxyacid synthase(AHAS) is the target enzyme of several classes of herbicides,such as sulfonylureas and imidazolinones.Now many mutant AHASs with herbicide resistance have emerged along with extensive use of herbicides,therefore it is imperative to understand the detailed interaction mechanism and resistance mechanism so as to develop new potent inhibitors for wild-type or resistant AHAS.With the aid of available crystal structures of the Arabidopsis thaliana(At) AHAS-inhibitor complex,molecular dynamics(MD) simulations were used to investigate the interaction and resistance mechanism directly and dynamically at the atomic level.Nanosecond-level MD simulations were performed on six systems consisting of wild-type or W574L mutant AtAHAS in the complex with three sulfonylurea inhibitors,separately,and binding free energy was calculated for each system using the MM-GBSA method.Comprehensive analyses from structural and energetic aspects confirmed the importance of residue W574,and also indicated that W574L mutation might alert the structural charactersistic of the substrate access channel and decrease the binding affinity of inhibitors,which cooperatively weaken the effective channel-blocked effect and finally result in weaker inhibitory effect of inhibitor and corresponding herbicide resistance of W574L mutant.To our knowledge,it is the first report about MD simulations study on the AHAS-related system,which will pave the way to study the interactions between herbicides and wild-type or mutant AHAS dynamically,and decipher the resistance mechanism at the atomic level for better designing new potent anti-resistance herbicides.
