外源ABA对玉米幼苗光抑制的调节

玉米幼苗经外源脱落酸(ABA)处理后，其生长与光合作用，如株高、干物质积累、净光合速率(Pn)、光合作用的量子效率(фC02)和羧化效率(CE)，以及光系统II (PSII)实际光化学效率(фPSII)等受到抑制，且该抑制程度与处理ABA的浓度呈相关性。PSII最大光化学活性(Fv/Fm)变化表明，以10和25μmol L-I ABA处理玉米幼苗7天，可明显提高其抗光抑制能力，而50μmol L-1ABA处理的玉米幼苗在相同条件下的抗光抑制能力下降。进一步以25μmol L-lABA处理玉米幼苗来研究，结果表明ABA处理可减缓强光下玉米叶片Pn、CE、фPS II和叶片吸收光能光化学猝灭(qP)的下降，同时增强叶片吸收光能的非光化学猝灭(NPQ)。另外，叶绿素荧光非光化学猝灭的中间组分(qm)增强，光抑制后Fv/Fm的恢复能力提高，这表明ABA处理高提高了强光下玉米幼苗的光系统状态转换能力和Psn循环修复作用。除此之外，ABA处理后玉米幼苗的叶黄素循环类色素，如紫黄质(V)、环氧玉米黄质(A)和玉米黄质(Z)的含量增加，叶黄素循环库(V+A+Z)增大，说明依赖于叶黄素循环的热耗散在ABA处理玉米幼苗中得到加强。另外，ABA处理幼苗在强光下保持较高фPsII／Pn活性，以及叶片抗氧化酶活性提高，如超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶(APX)、单脱氢抗坏血酸还原酶(DHAR)和谷胱甘肽还原酶(GR)，抗氧化物含量增加，如抗坏血酸(AsA)、脱氢抗坏血酸(DHAsA)、还原型谷胱甘肽(GSH)和氧化型谷胱甘肽(GSSH)，这说明ABA诱导Mehler-peroxidase反应的增强在提高玉米幼苗抗光抑制能力中也发挥重要作用。 玉米叶片光系统I和光系统II在相同强度(300μmolm-2 S-l)的红光（655nm）和远红光（700-770 nm）共同照射下，光系统I(PSI)和光系统II(PSII)吸收光能基本平衡，叶片光合作用处于状态1，此时Psn保持较高的光适应下最大荧光( Fml)。关闭远红光，使叶片只处在红光照射下，则会引起光下PSII最大荧光( Frri2)的降低。关闭远红光约20nun后，光下下降的Psn最大荧光基本达到稳定，叶片光合作用处于状态2。这种在状态l向状态2的转换过程中所发生的PSII最大荧光下降不受DTT（叶黄素循环抑制剂）的影响，且整个过程中PsII最大光化学效率( Fv/Fm)保持不变，而光下PSII初始荧光(F0')在前20min内迅速降低。另外，在PSII吸收的红光照射下，玉米叶片吸收光向PSII分配的量(B)不断减少，与此同时，吸收光能向PSI分配的量(a)不断增多。ABA预处理玉米幼苗7天，可进一步加强红光下PSII最大荧光(Fm2)的降低，使荧光参数Fm1/Fm2—1增大，而使β／α-1降低。另外，ABA处理较对照幼苗在红光下呈现更高的荧光非光化学猝灭中间组分(qm)。在引入叶绿体蛋白激酶抑制剂NEM的情况下，ABA处理与对照玉米叶片在红光下所表现的qm差异则消失。从状态1向状态2的转换过程中，ABA处理引起玉米叶片77K低温荧光F684/F732的下降幅度显著加大。以上结果说明ABA处理可提高玉米幼苗光合作用的状态转换能力。 用的25μmol L-l ABA对玉米幼苗进行长时间（根系浇灌7天，LT）和短时间（实验前一天晚上叶面喷施1次，ST）处理，研究叶片C02同化、PsII化学活性，以及叶黄素循环的变化。结果表明在非光抑制状态下，LT与ST对玉米叶片光化学活性( Fv/Fm)及叶片羧化效率(CE)没有明显影响，但二者都引起叶片净光合速率(Pn)与气孔导度(Gs)下降。LT处理增大玉米叶片叶黄素循环库，而ST处理对该库大小没有影响。1500μmol m-2 s-1强光可明显引起玉米幼苗叶片Fv/Fm降低，但与对照幼苗相比，LT处理能显著减缓Fv/Fm降低。经60min强光照射后，ST与对照在Fv/Fm、фPS II、Pn和CE等参数上没有明显差异，但这些参数在LT处理的玉米幼苗中仍保持较高水平。LT处理幼苗叶黄素循环类色素含量及非光化学荧光猝灭(NPQ)都显著高于对照，膜脂过氧化产物MDA含量比对照低。而ST处理与对照在叶黄素循环类色素含量、NPQ和MDA含量等方面没有明显差异。以上结果说明ST处理对玉米幼苗光抑制没有明显影响，而LT处理可增强玉米幼苗抗光抑制能力，这可能与ABA处理使玉米幼苗在强光下维持较高的C02同化作用，以及其诱导叶片叶黄素循环增大有关。

Two antimicrobial peptides from skin secretions of Rana grahami

Two antimicrobial peptides manifested a broad spectrum of anti microbial activity against various microorganisms have been isolated from skin secretions of Rana grahami. These antimicrobial peptides were named grahamin 1 and grahamin 2. Their primary Stru

Two families of antimicrobial peptides from wasp (Vespa magnifica) venom

The hornet possesses highly toxic venom, which is rich in toxin, enzymes and biologically active peptides. Many bioactive substances were identified from wasp venom. Two families of antimicrobial peptides were purified and characterized from the venom of

Stejnulxin, a novel snake C-type lectin-like protein from Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom is a potent platelet agonist acting specifically via GPVl

Stejnulxin, a novel snake C-type lectin-like protein with potent platelet activating activity, was purified and characterized from Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom. Under non-reducing conditions, it migrated on a SDS-polyacrylamide gel with an apparent molecular mass of 120 kDa. On reduction, it separated into three polypeptide subunits with apparent molecular masses of 16 kDa (alpha), 20 kDa (beta(1)) and 22 kDa (beta(2)), respectively. The complete amino acid sequences of its subunits were deduced from cloned cDNAs. The N-terminal sequencing and cDNA cloning indicated that beta(1) and beta(2) subunits of stejnulxin have identical amino acid sequences and each contains two N-glycosylation sites. Accordingly, the molecular mass difference between 1 and 2 is caused by glycosylation heterogenity. The subunit amino acid sequences of stejnulxin are similar to those of convulxin, with sequence identities of 52.6% and 66.4% for the U. and beta, respectively. Stejnulxin induced human platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner. Antibodies against UNA inhibited the aggregation response to stejnulxin, indicating that activation of alpha(IIb)beta(3) and binding of fibrinogen are involved in stejnulxin-induced platelet aggregation. Antibodies against GPIbalpha or alpha(2)beta(1) as well as echicetin or rhodocetin had no significant effect on stejnulxin-induced platelet aggregation. However, platelet activation induced by stejnulxin was blocked by anti-GPVI antibodies. In addition, stejnulxin induced a tyrosine phosphorylation profile in platelets that resembled that produced by convulxin. Biotinylated stejnulxin bound specifically to platelet membrane GPVI.

An antimicrobial peptide with antimicrobial activity against Helicobacter pylori

An antimicrobial peptide named odorranain-HP was identified from skin secretions of the diskless odorous frog, Odorrana grahami. It is composed of 23 amino acids with an amino acid sequence of GLLRASSVWGRKYYVDLAGCAKA. By BLAST search, odorranain-HP had si

Characterization of a thrombin-like enzyme from the venom of Trimeresurus jerdonii

From the venom of Trimeresurus jerdonii, a distinct thrombin-like enzyme, called jerdonobin. was purified by DEAF A-25 ion-exchange chromatography, Sephadex G-75 gel filtration, and fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC). SDS-PAGE analysis of this enzyme shows that it consists of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weight of 38,000. The NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of jerdonobin has great homology with venom thrombin-like enzymes documented. Jerdonobin is able to hydrolyze several chromogenic substrates. The enzyme directly clots fibrinogen with an activity of 217 NIH units/mg, The fibrinopeptides released, identified by HPLC consisted of fibrinopeptide A and a small amount of fibrinopepide B. The activities of the enzyme were inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) and p-nitrophenyl-p-guanidinobenzoate (NPGB). However, metal chelator (EDTA) had no effect on it. indicating it is venom serine protease. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization and cloning of a novel phospholipase A(2) from the venom of Trimeresurus jerdonii snake

A phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) called jerdoxin, was isolated from Trimeresurus jerdonni snake venom and partially characterized. The protein was purified by three chromatographic steps. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence or absence of dithiothreitol showed that it had a molecular mass of 15 kDa. Jerdoxin had an enzymatic activity of 39.4 mumol/min/mg towards egg yolk phosphatidyl choline (PC). It induced edema in the footpads of mice. In addition, jerdoxin exhibited indirect hemolytic activity. About 97% hemolysis was observed when 2 mug/ml enzyme was incubated for 90 min in the presence of PC and Ca2+. No detectable hemolysis was noticed when PC was not added. Ca2+ was necessary for jerdoxin to exert its hemolytic activity, since only 52% hemolysis was seen when Ca2+ was absent in the reaction mixture. Furthermore, jerdoxin inhibited ADP induced rabbit platelet aggregation and the inhibition was dose dependent with an IC50 of 1.0 muM. The complete amino acid sequence of jerdoxin deduced from cDNA sequence shared high homology with other snake venom PLA(2)s, especially the D49 PLA(2)s. Also, the residues concerned to Ca2+ binding were conserved. This is the first report of cDNA sequence of T jerdonii venom PLA(2). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purification and cloning of a novel C-type lectin-like protein with platelet aggregation activity from Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus venom

TMVA, a novel C-type lectin-like protein that induces platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner, was purified from the venom of Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus. It consists of two subunits, alpha (15,536 Da) and beta (14,873 Da). The mature amino acid sequences of the a (135 amino acids) and beta subunits (123 amino acids) were deduced from cloned cDNAs. Both of the sequences show great similarity to C-type lectin-like venom proteins, including a carbohydrate recognition domain. The cysteine residues of TMVA are conserved at positions corresponding to those of flavocetin-A and convulxin, including the additional Cys135 in the alpha subunit and Cys3 in the beta subunit. SDS-PAGE, mass spectrometry analysis and amino acid sequence showed that native TMVA exists as two convertible multimers Of (alphabeta)(2) and (alphabeta)(4) with molecular weights of 63,680 and 128,518 Da, respectively. The (alphabeta)(2) complex is stabilized by an interchain disulfide bridge between the two alphabeta-heterodimers, whereas the stabilization of the (alphabeta)(4) complex seems to involve non-covalent interactions between the (alphabeta)(2) complexes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of three short-chain neurotoxins from the venom of Naja kaouthia (Yunnan, China)

Three short-chain neurotoxins named NT-I, NT-II, and NT-III were purified from the venom of Naja kaouthia, a snake distributed throughout the south of Yunnan province, China, by a series of chromatographic steps, including an FPLC Resource S column. Their molecular weights, determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) MS, were 6952.19 Da, 6854.92 Da, and 6828.80 Da, respectively. NT-I consisted of 62 amino acid residues, and the other two consisted of 61 amino acid residues, including 8 cysteines. After hydrolysis by endoproteinase Glu-C, their primary sequences were determined. A test of their activities demonstrated that they effectively inhibited muscle contractions induced by electric stimulation. Furthermore, the extent of inhibition caused by NT-II and NT-III was less than that of NT-I. The IC(50)s were 0.04 mug/ml, 0.20 mug/ml, and 0.23 mug/ml for NT-I, NT-II, and NT-III, respectively. Compared with NT-II and NT-III, the higher activity of NT-I may be a result of the amino acid residue substitution Ile36 to Arg36.

Actions of two serine proteases from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom on chromogenic substrates and fibrinogen

Jerdonobin and jerdofibrase are two serine proteases purified from the venom of Trimeresurus jerdonii. The Michaelis constant K-m and the catalytic rate constant K-cat of jerdonobin or jerdofibrase on three chromogenic substrates, H-D-Pro-Phe-Arg-pNA (S2302), H-D-Phe-pipecolyl-Arg-pNA (S2238), and H-D-Val-Leu-Lys-pNA (S2251) were obtained from lineweaver-Burk plots. Jerdofibrase could hydrolyze all three substrates, but jerdonobin had no detectable activity on S2251, suggesting a relatively broader substrate specificity for jerdofibrase than jerdonobin. By SDS-PAGE, jerdofibrase preferentially degraded Bbeta-chain of fibrinogen. It also degraded Aalpha-chain of fibrinogen with relatively slow activity, but did not act on the gamma-chain. In contrast, jerdonobin did not degrade fibrinogen within 12 h. Fibrinopeptides liberation test, identified by HPLC, showed jerdonobin released fibrinopeptide A and a small amount of fibrinopeptide B. Unlike jerdonobin, jerdofibrase mainly released fibrinopeptide B. These results indicate that the two enzymes differ in their ability to hydrolyze chromogenic substrates and in their actions on fibrinogen. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.