Genome-wide identification and characterization of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase genes in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila

Background: Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases play key roles in the metabolism of a wide variety of substrates and they are closely associated with endocellular physiological processes or detoxification metabolism under environmental exposure. To date, however, none has been systematically characterized in the phylum Ciliophora. T. thermophila possess many advantages as a eukaryotic model organism and it exhibits rapid and sensitive responses to xenobiotics, making it an ideal model system to study the evolutionary and functional diversity of the P450 monooxygenase gene family. Results: A total of 44 putative functional cytochrome P450 genes were identified and could be classified into 13 families and 21 sub-families according to standard nomenclature. The characteristics of both the conserved intron-exon organization and scaffold localization of tandem repeats within each P450 family clade suggested that the enlargement of T. thermophila P450 families probably resulted from recent separate small duplication events. Gene expression patterns of all T. thermophila P450s during three important cell physiological stages (vegetative growth, starvation and conjugation) were analyzed based on EST and microarray data, and three main categories of expression patterns were postulated. Evolutionary analysis including codon usage preference, sit-especific selection and gene-expression evolution patterns were investigated and the results indicated remarkable divergences among the T. thermophila P450 genes. Conclusion: The characterization, expression and evolutionary analysis of T. thermophila P450 monooxygenase genes in the current study provides useful information for understanding the characteristics and diversities of the P450 genes in the Ciliophora, and provides the baseline for functional analyses of individual P450 isoforms in this model ciliate species.

The oxidative demethylation of 24-membered hexa-aza macrocyclic bicopper(I) complex - The mimicking for monooxygenase

By [2 + 2] Schiff base condensation of 5 - bromo - 2 - methoxylbenzene - 1,3 - dicarboxaldehyde with diethylenetriamine, a new hexaaza 24 - membered macrocyclic ligand was obtained,which formed a macrocyclic binuclear copper(I) complex in the presence of [Cu . (CH3CN)(4)]ClO4. When the copper(I) complex was oxidized in air or oxygen, a new macrocyclic binuclear copper( II) complex was obtained. The copper( II.) complex was characterized by several methods and its oxidized products was characterized by H-1 NMR. The results show that during oxidation, a methoxyl group in the ligand ring broke; and the phenoxy - and water - bridged Cu(II) complex formed. In oxidation of monooxygenase such as ligninase, oxidative demethylation also happened. Therefore this work mimicked this process for the first time by using macrocyclic complex. The quantity of absorbed oxygen and the absorption rate of oxygen were determined.

Haplotype frequency distribution and linkage disequilibrium analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms at the human FMO3 gene locus

We analyzed flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3) polymorphisms, haplotype structure, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) in 256 Han Chinese and 50 African-American individuals to compare their haplotype frequencies and LD with other world populations. For

Diversity and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in eutrophic and oligotrophic basins of a shallow Chinese lake (Lake Donghu)

Classical cultivation and molecular methods based on the ammonia monooxygenase gene (amoA) were used to study the abundance and diversity of beta-proteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in lake sediments. The eutrophic and oligotrophic basins of a Chinese shallow lake (Lake Donghu), in terms of ammonium (NH4+) concentrations, were sampled. The AOB number was significantly lower in the oligotrophic basin, but significantly higher in the eutrophic basin. In addition, using restriction fragment length polymorphism targeting the amoA, ten restriction patterns including six unique ones were found in the eutrophic basin, while five patterns were observed in the oligotrophic basin with only one unique restriction group. Phylogenetic analysis for AOB revealed that Nitrosomonas oligotropha- and Nitrosomonas ureae-related AOB and Nitrosospira-affiliated AOB were ubiquitous; the former dominated in the eutrophic basin (87.2%), while the latter dominated in the oligotrophic basin (65.5%). Furthermore, Nitrosomonas communis-related AOB was only detected in the eutrophic basin, at a small proportion (3.2%). These results indicate significant selection and adaptation of sediment AOB in lakes with differing trophic status. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

影响沼气甲基产孢弧菌生长及其甲烷单加氧酶活性的若干因素研究

本文叙述了影响甲烷氧化细菌沼气甲基产孢弧菌81Z菌株生长和甲烷单加氧酶(MMO)活性的若干因素。沼气甲基产孢弧菌81Z菌株细胞生长被高浓度PO43-(>8mM),NH4+([NH4cl]>500mg/l)抑制；[CuSO4·5H2O]在0～4mg/l范围内。生长随[Cu2+]升高而加强，低[Cu2+](0.1mg/l CuSO4·5H2O)培养基中，添加Cocl2·6H2O(0.238mg/l)；促进菌体细胞生长。发酵罐分批培养过程中，生长延迟期过后，沼气甲基产孢弧菌81Z菌株细胞MMO比活很快达到最高，并稳定至对数生长中后期，随即急剧下降至初始水平。发现沼气甲基产孢弧菌81Z细胞中存在一种MMO活性，它不同于已报道过的两种MMO,MMOL最适PH6.2～6.4，4℃相对稳定，其产生不受培养基中[Cu2+]调控能与甲醇-甲醇脱氢酶系统相偶联，在无细胞抽提液中其活性被400μM[Cu2+]抑制。在低[Cu2+]发酵罐培养条件下，沼气甲基产孢弧菌81Z菌株产生可溶性MMC，其最适PH7.0，4℃不稳定，可被DE-52分离为三组分：A、B、C。为了获得沼气甲基产孢弧菌81Z细胞MMO的最佳催化活性，①采用高[Cu2+]培养基进行发酵罐培养，收集对数生长中期的细胞；②选择反应缓冲液PH6.3；③反应体系中添加5mM甲醇或甲酸是有效的方法。在本研究所采取过的最佳条件下，测得MMO活性为15.9nmol/min·mg干细胞，是以前报道的该菌株活性0.97nmol/min·mg干细胞的十六倍。Some factors which influence growth and MMO activity of Methylosporovibrio methanica 81Z were described. The growth of Methylosporovibrio methanica 81Z is inhibited by high concentration of PO43-(8mM)or NH4+(500mg/lNH4cl). The growth of Methylosporovibrio methanica 81Z increased with rising of copper concentration up to 4mg/l CuSO4·5H2O. At low copper concentration(0.1mg/lCuSO4·5H2O),adding Cocl2·6H2O(0.238mg/l)could enhance the growth of Methylosporovibrio methanica 81Z.With batch culture of Methylosporovibrio methanica 81Z in a fermentor, after lag phase, the activity of MMO reached the highest level rapidly and steady until later log phase, then falled to initial level.MMOL activity differenct from that of two types of MMO reported before was found from Methylosporovibrio methanica 81Z with optimum PH value from 6.2 to 6.4 and relative stabilty at 4℃. Synthsis of the MMOL was not regulated by copper concentaration in medium. Its activity could couple with methane-l-methanoldehydrogenase system, and in cell-free extract, were inhibited by 400μm copper ion. At low copper concentration(0.1mg/lCuSO4·5H2O) and in a fermentor, Methylosporovibrio methanica 81Z could syntheis soluble MMO similar to solble MMO reported before by Palton and Patel. Its optimum PH value was 7.0. It was unstable at 4℃. It could be resoluted into three components: A, B, and C. It was effentive for obtaining the maxtmum MMO with Methylosporovibrio methanica 81Z that (1) to keep high copper concentration(4mg/lCuSO4·5H2O) in a fermentor and harvest cell at middlel lag phase;(2) to choose 6.3 as the PH value of reaction buffer;(3)and to add 5mM methanol or formate into reaction system. In this dy, the MMO activity of cells of Methylosporovibrio methanica 81Z was reached 15.9 nmol/min.mg, dry weight, sixteen times as high as the value(0.97nmol/min.mg, dry weight) reported with the same strain.