Swath sonar bathymetry during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XXII/2 (PS67) with links to multibeam raw data files

Multibeam data were measured during R/V Polarstern cruise ANT-XXII/2 along track lines of approximately 6800 NM total length during transits and the Ice Station POLarstern (ISPOL) experiment. Data were achieved during the transit from Cape Town via Bouvet Island towards Antarctic Peninsula for three weeks, crossing Agulhas Ridge, Agulhas Basin and Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and during the transit to Cape Town via South Georgia for two weeks. During the ISPOL station, data were gained while the vessel was drifting for five weeks anchored to an ice floe in the south-western Weddell Sea, starting at 68°13'S/54°47'W. The multibeam sonar system Hydrosweep DS-2 was operated using 59 beams and 90° aperture angle. The refraction correction was achieved using CTD profiles or utilizing the system's own cross fan calibration. The quality of data might be reduced during bad weather periods or adverse sea ice conditions. The dataset contains raw data that are not processed and thus may contain errors and blunders in depth and position.

Ectopic expression of the minimal whiE polyketide synthase generates a library of aromatic polyketides of diverse sizes and shapes

The single recombinant expressing the Streptomyces coelicolor minimal whiE (spore pigment) polyketide synthase (PKS) is uniquely capable of generating a large array of well more than 30 polyketides, many of which, so far, are novel to this recombinant. The characterized polyketides represent a diverse set of molecules that differ in size (chain length) and shape (cyclization pattern). This combinatorial biosynthetic library is, by far, the largest and most complex of its kind described to date and indicates that the minimal whiE PKS does not independently control polyketide chain length nor dictate the first cyclization event. Rather, the minimal PKS enzyme complex must rely on the stabilizing effects of additional subunits (i.e., the cyclase whiE-ORFVI) to ensure that the chain reaches the full 24 carbons and cyclizes correctly. This dramatic loss of control implies that the growing polyketide chain does not remain enzyme bound, resulting in the spontaneous cyclization of the methyl terminus. Among the six characterized dodecaketides, four different first-ring cyclization regiochemistries are represented, including C7/C12, C8/C13, C10/C15, and C13/C15. The dodecaketide TW93h possesses a unique 2,4-dioxaadamantane ring system and represents a new structural class of polyketides with no related structures isolated from natural or engineered organisms, thus supporting the claim that engineered biosynthesis is capable of producing novel chemotypes.

Plant terpenoid synthases: Molecular biology and phylogenetic analysis

This review focuses on the monoterpene, sesquiterpene, and diterpene synthases of plant origin that use the corresponding C10, C15, and C20 prenyl diphosphates as substrates to generate the enormous diversity of carbon skeletons characteristic of the terpenoid family of natural products. A description of the enzymology and mechanism of terpenoid cyclization is followed by a discussion of molecular cloning and heterologous expression of terpenoid synthases. Sequence relatedness and phylogenetic reconstruction, based on 33 members of the Tps gene family, are delineated, and comparison of important structural features of these enzymes is provided. The review concludes with an overview of the organization and regulation of terpenoid metabolism, and of the biotechnological applications of terpenoid synthase genes.

Terpenoid-based defenses in conifers: cDNA cloning, characterization, and functional expression of wound-inducible (E)-α-bisabolene synthase from grand fir (Abies grandis)

(E)-α-Bisabolene synthase is one of two wound-inducible sesquiterpene synthases of grand fir (Abies grandis), and the olefin product of this cyclization reaction is considered to be the precursor in Abies species of todomatuic acid, juvabione, and related insect juvenile hormone mimics. A cDNA encoding (E)-α-bisabolene synthase was isolated from a wound-induced grand fir stem library by a PCR-based strategy and was functionally expressed in Escherichia coli and shown to produce (E)-α-bisabolene as the sole product from farnesyl diphosphate. The expressed synthase has a deduced size of 93.8 kDa and a pI of 5.03, exhibits other properties typical of sesquiterpene synthases, and resembles in sequence other terpenoid synthases with the exception of a large amino-terminal insertion corresponding to Pro81–Val296. Biosynthetically prepared (E)-α-[3H]bisabolene was converted to todomatuic acid in induced grand fir cells, and the time course of appearance of bisabolene synthase mRNA was shown by Northern hybridization to lag behind that of mRNAs responsible for production of induced oleoresin monoterpenes. These results suggest that induced (E)-α-bisabolene biosynthesis constitutes part of a defense response targeted to insect herbivores, and possibly fungal pathogens, that is distinct from induced oleoresin monoterpene production.

A functionally defined model for the M2 proton channel of influenza A virus suggests a mechanism for its ion selectivity

The M2 protein from influenza A virus forms proton-selective channels that are essential to viral function and are the target of the drug amantadine. Cys scanning was used to generate a series of mutants with successive substitutions in the transmembrane segment of the protein, and the mutants were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. The effect of the mutations on reversal potential, ion currents, and amantadine resistance were measured. Fourier analysis revealed a periodicity consistent with a four-stranded coiled coil or helical bundle. A three-dimensional model of this structure suggests a possible mechanism for the proton selectivity of the M2 channel of influenza virus.