The function of protein in long-range biological electron transfer is a question of debate. We report some preliminary results in femtosecond spectroscopic study of photosynthetic bacterial light-harvesting antenna co...The function of protein in long-range biological electron transfer is a question of debate. We report some preliminary results in femtosecond spectroscopic study of photosynthetic bacterial light-harvesting antenna complex assembled onto TiO2 nanoparticle with an average size of 8 nm in diameter. Crystal structure shows that photosynthetic bacterial antenna complex LH2 has a ring-like structure composed by alpha- and beta-apoprotein helices. The alpha- and beta-transmembrance helices construct two concentric cylinders with pigments bacteriochlorophyll a (Bchl a) and carotenoid (Car) buried inside the protein. We attempt to insert TiO2 nanoparticle into the cavity of the inner cylindrical hollow of LH2 to investigate the nature of the electron transfer between the excited-state Bchl a and the TiO2 nanoparticle. A significant decrease in the ground state bleaching recovery time constant for Bchl a at 850 run (B850) in respect to that of the Bchl a in free LH2 has been observed. By using the relation of distance-dependent long-range electron transfer rate in protein, the distance between the donor B850 and the acceptor TiO2 nanoparticle has been estimated, which is about 0.6 nm. The proposed method of assembling proteins onto wide-gap semiconductor nanoparticle can be a promising way to determine the role of the protein playing in biological electron transfer processes.展开更多
AIM： To explore the possibility of repression of chloromycetin （Cm） acyl transferase by using external guided sequence （EGS） in order to converse the clinical E coli isolates from Cm- resistant to Cm- sensitive. ...AIM： To explore the possibility of repression of chloromycetin （Cm） acyl transferase by using external guided sequence （EGS） in order to converse the clinical E coli isolates from Cm- resistant to Cm- sensitive. METHODS： EGS directed against chloromycetin acetyl transferase gene （cat） was cloned to vector pEGFP-C1 which contains the kanamycin （Kin） resistance gene. The recombinant plasmid pEGFP-C1＋EGScatl＋cat2 was constructed and the blank vector without EGS fragment was used as control plasmids. By using the CaCl2 transformation method, the recombinant plasmids were introduced into the clinically isolated Cm resistant but Km sensitive E coli strains. Transformants were screened on LB agar plates containing Kin. Extraction of plasmids and PCR were applied to identify the positive clones. The growth curve of EGS transformed bacteria cultured in broth with Cm resistance was determined by using spectrophotometer at A600. Drug sensitivity was tested in solid culture containing Cm by using KB method. RESULTS： Transformation studies were carried out on 16 clinically isolated Cm-resistant （250 μg/mL of Cm） E colistrains by using pEGFP-C1-EGScatlcat2 recombinant plasmid. Transformants were screened on LB-agar plates containing Km after the transformation using EGS. Of the 16 tested strains, 4 strains were transformed successfully. Transformants with EGS plasmid showed growth inhibition when grown in liquid broth culture containing 200 μg/mL of Cm. In drug sensitivity test, these strains were sensitive to Cm on LB-agar plates containing 200 μg/mL of Cm. Extraction of plasmids and PCR amplification showed the existence of EGS plasmids in these four transformed strains. These results indicated that the Cat of the four clinical isolates had been suppressed and the four strains were converted to Cm sensitive ones. CONCLUSION： The EGS directed against Cat is able to inhibit the expression of Cat, and hence convert Cm- resistant bacteria to Cm-sensitive ones. Thus, the EGS has the capability of converting the phenotype of clinical drug-resistant isolates strains to drug-sensitive ones.展开更多
The diversity and classification of microbes has been a long-standing issue.Molecular phylogeny of the prokaryotes based on comparison of the 16S rRNA sequences of the small ribosomal subunit has led to a reasonable t...The diversity and classification of microbes has been a long-standing issue.Molecular phylogeny of the prokaryotes based on comparison of the 16S rRNA sequences of the small ribosomal subunit has led to a reasonable tree of life in the late 1970s. How-ever, the availability of more and more complete bacterial genomes has brought about complications instead of refinement of the tree. In particular, it turns out that different choice of genes may tell different history. This might be caused by possible horizontal gene transfer (HGT) among species. There is an urgent need to develop phylogenetic methods that make use of whole genome data. We describe a new approach in molecular phylogeny,namely, tree construction based on K-tuple frequency analysis of the genomic sequences.Putting aside the technicalities, we emphasize the transition from randomness to determin-ism when the string length K increases and try to comment on the challenge mentioned in the title.展开更多
文摘The function of protein in long-range biological electron transfer is a question of debate. We report some preliminary results in femtosecond spectroscopic study of photosynthetic bacterial light-harvesting antenna complex assembled onto TiO2 nanoparticle with an average size of 8 nm in diameter. Crystal structure shows that photosynthetic bacterial antenna complex LH2 has a ring-like structure composed by alpha- and beta-apoprotein helices. The alpha- and beta-transmembrance helices construct two concentric cylinders with pigments bacteriochlorophyll a (Bchl a) and carotenoid (Car) buried inside the protein. We attempt to insert TiO2 nanoparticle into the cavity of the inner cylindrical hollow of LH2 to investigate the nature of the electron transfer between the excited-state Bchl a and the TiO2 nanoparticle. A significant decrease in the ground state bleaching recovery time constant for Bchl a at 850 run (B850) in respect to that of the Bchl a in free LH2 has been observed. By using the relation of distance-dependent long-range electron transfer rate in protein, the distance between the donor B850 and the acceptor TiO2 nanoparticle has been estimated, which is about 0.6 nm. The proposed method of assembling proteins onto wide-gap semiconductor nanoparticle can be a promising way to determine the role of the protein playing in biological electron transfer processes.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No. 39570846
文摘AIM： To explore the possibility of repression of chloromycetin （Cm） acyl transferase by using external guided sequence （EGS） in order to converse the clinical E coli isolates from Cm- resistant to Cm- sensitive. METHODS： EGS directed against chloromycetin acetyl transferase gene （cat） was cloned to vector pEGFP-C1 which contains the kanamycin （Kin） resistance gene. The recombinant plasmid pEGFP-C1＋EGScatl＋cat2 was constructed and the blank vector without EGS fragment was used as control plasmids. By using the CaCl2 transformation method, the recombinant plasmids were introduced into the clinically isolated Cm resistant but Km sensitive E coli strains. Transformants were screened on LB agar plates containing Kin. Extraction of plasmids and PCR were applied to identify the positive clones. The growth curve of EGS transformed bacteria cultured in broth with Cm resistance was determined by using spectrophotometer at A600. Drug sensitivity was tested in solid culture containing Cm by using KB method. RESULTS： Transformation studies were carried out on 16 clinically isolated Cm-resistant （250 μg/mL of Cm） E colistrains by using pEGFP-C1-EGScatlcat2 recombinant plasmid. Transformants were screened on LB-agar plates containing Km after the transformation using EGS. Of the 16 tested strains, 4 strains were transformed successfully. Transformants with EGS plasmid showed growth inhibition when grown in liquid broth culture containing 200 μg/mL of Cm. In drug sensitivity test, these strains were sensitive to Cm on LB-agar plates containing 200 μg/mL of Cm. Extraction of plasmids and PCR amplification showed the existence of EGS plasmids in these four transformed strains. These results indicated that the Cat of the four clinical isolates had been suppressed and the four strains were converted to Cm sensitive ones. CONCLUSION： The EGS directed against Cat is able to inhibit the expression of Cat, and hence convert Cm- resistant bacteria to Cm-sensitive ones. Thus, the EGS has the capability of converting the phenotype of clinical drug-resistant isolates strains to drug-sensitive ones.
基金This work was partially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China,the Special Funds for Major State Basic Research Project,the Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,and the Major Innovation Research Project"248"of Beijing Munic
文摘The diversity and classification of microbes has been a long-standing issue.Molecular phylogeny of the prokaryotes based on comparison of the 16S rRNA sequences of the small ribosomal subunit has led to a reasonable tree of life in the late 1970s. How-ever, the availability of more and more complete bacterial genomes has brought about complications instead of refinement of the tree. In particular, it turns out that different choice of genes may tell different history. This might be caused by possible horizontal gene transfer (HGT) among species. There is an urgent need to develop phylogenetic methods that make use of whole genome data. We describe a new approach in molecular phylogeny,namely, tree construction based on K-tuple frequency analysis of the genomic sequences.Putting aside the technicalities, we emphasize the transition from randomness to determin-ism when the string length K increases and try to comment on the challenge mentioned in the title.
