Effects of truncated mutants of the ε subunit of chloroplast ATP synthase on the fast phase of millisecond delayed light emission of chloroplast and its ATP synthesis ability

The ε subunit of the chloroplast ATP synthase and the truncated ε mutants which lack some amino acid residues from the N-terminus or C-terminus were overexpressed in E. coil When the ε subunit or the truncated ε proteins was added to the spinach chloroplast suspension, both the intensity of the fast phase of millisecond delayed light emission (ms-DLE) and the cyclic and noncyclic photophosphorylation activity of chloroplast were enhanced. With an increase in the number of residues deleted from the N-terminus, the enhancement effect of the N-terminal truncated proteins decreased gradually. For the C-terminal truncated proteins, the enhancement effect increased gradually with an increase in the number of residues deleted from the C-terminus. Besides, the ATP synthesis activity of ε-deficient membrane reconstituted with the ε subunit or the truncated ε proteins was compared. The ATP synthesis activity of reconstituted membrane with the N-terminal truncated proteins decreased gradually as the number of residues deleted from the N-terminus increased. For the C-terminal truncated proteins, the ATP synthesis activity of reconstituted membrane increased gradually with an increase in the number of residues deleted from the C-terminus, but was still lower than that of the wild type ε protein. These results suggested that: (a) the N-terminal domain of the ε subunit of the chloroplast ATP synthase could affect the ATP synthesis activity of ATP synthase by regulating the efficiency of blocking proton leakage of ε subunit; and (b) the C-terminal domain of the ε subunit of the chloroplast ATP synthase had a subtle function in modulating the ATP synthesis ability of ATP synthase.     

Effect of Residue Mutation on the Electrostatic Potential in EcCIC

The effect of mutation of strongly conserved porelining residues in the chloride channel EcClC on the electrostatic potential and binding free energy of the chloride ion was studied using explicit protein-membrane structures. Electrostatic potential distribution and binding free energy of the chloride ion at different binding sites in the wild-type and mutated EcClC were calculated with APBS. The potential data reveal that the electrostatic potential around the selectivity filter, especially around the site Sext and Scen becomes more negative as the residue R147 was mutated to C147. The electrostatic binding free energy shows that the binding free energy of the chloride ion at all binding sites becomes more positive as R147 was mutated. It follows that mutation of R147 decreases ion stabilization at binding sites and affects channel＇s gating.     

Protection of phosphatidylcholine to photosystem Ⅱ membrane during heat treatment

Photosystem Ⅱ membrane was reconstituted with phosphatidylcholine (PC) with different kinds of fatty acyl chains and the protection of PC to photosystem Ⅱ (PS Ⅱ)membrane during heat treatment was investigated using oxygen electrode, variable fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Heat treatment decreased the oxygen evolution rate and the F′v/Fm′ ratio of PS Ⅱ membrane and influenced CD spectra of PS Ⅱ membrane, but PC inhibited the effect of heat treatment on the oxygen evolution rate, the F′v/F′m ratio and CD spectra of PS Ⅱ membrane. The results indicate that PC can protect PS Ⅱ membrane against heat treatment and the alterations in the unsaturated fatty acid extent in PC can cause the changes of the protection ability.     

Depletion of phosphatidyl-glycerol head-group induces changes in oxygen evolution and protein secondary struc-tures of photosystem Ⅱ

The techniques of oxygen electrode polarogra-phy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were employed to explore the roles of polar head-group of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) molecules in the functional and structural aspects of photosystem Ⅱ (PS Ⅱ) through enzymatic approach. It was shown that the depletion of PG by treatment of phospholipase C (PLC) on PS Ⅱ particles caused the inhibition of oxygen evolving activity in PS Ⅱ. This effect also gave rise to changes in the protein secondary structures of PS Ⅱ, that is, an increase in a-helical conformation which is compensated by the loss of p-strand structures. It revealed that the head-group of PG molecules plays an important structural role in the maintenance of normal structure of PS Ⅱ proteins, which is required to maintain the appropriate physiological activity of the PS Ⅱ complex such as the oxygen evolving activity. It is suggested that there most probably exist hydrogen-bonding interactions between PG molecules and PS Ⅱ proteins.     

Biological function of HIV-1 transmembrane protein gp41──A study on a putative cellular receptor of gp41

Since 1992, the study of biological functions of HIV-1 gp41 has made great progress. Experimental evidence from several research groups demonstrated that gp41 has a putative cellular receptor. A recombinant soluble gp41 (aa539-684) and gp41 immunosuppressive peptide (aa583-599) could bind to human B lymphocytes and monocytes, but weakly bind to T lymphocytes. It was found that gp41 contains two cellular binding sites (aa583-599 and 641-675). GP41 could selectively inhibit cell proliferation of human T, B lymphocytes and monocytes, enhance human MHC class Ⅰ, Ⅱ and ICAM-1 molecule expression on cell surface. Gp41 binding proteins and a monoclonal antibody against the first binding site could inhibit this modulation effect. Amino acid sequence homology exists between gp41 and human type Ⅰ interferons, and the homologous region is located in the first binding site on gp41 and in the receptor binding site on type Ⅰ interferons. Studies in other groups indicate that both binding sites in gp41 may be associated with HIV infection of cells. Peptides containing two binding sites could respectively inhibit HIV infection of cells. A monoclonal antibody recognizing the second binding site could neutralize lab-strains and recently separated strains of HIV-1. Besides, antibodies against two regions (homologous with gp41 binding sites) of SIV transmembrane protein gp32 could protect macaques from SIV infection. These results suggest that the study of gp41 binding sites and cellular receptor could contribute to understanding the mechanism of HIV infection and to developing HIV vaccine and anti-HIV drugs.     

Protection of phosphatidyl-choline to photosystem II membrane during heat treatment

Photosystem II membrane was reconstituted with phosphatidylcholine (PC) with different kinds of fatty acyl chains and the protection of PC to photosystem II (PS II) membrane during heat treatment was investigated using oxygen electrode, variable fluorescence and circular dichro-ism (CD) spectroscopy. Heat treatment decreased the oxygen evolution rate and the F'v/Fm' ratio of PS II membrane and influenced CD spectra of PS II membrane, but PC inhibited the effect of heat treatment on the oxygen evolution rate, the F'v/F'm ratio and CD spectra of PS II membrane. The results indicate that PC can protect PS II membrane against heat treatment and the alterations in the unsaturated fatty acid extent in PC can cause the changes of the protection ability.     

Depletion of phosphatidylglycerol head-group induces changes in oxygen evolution and protein secondary structures of photosystemⅡ

The techniques of oxygen electrode polarography and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were employed to explore the roles of polar head-group of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) molecules in the functional and structural aspects of photosystemⅡ(PSⅡ) through enzymatic approach. It was shown that the depletion of PG by treatment of phospholipase C (PLC) on PSⅡ particles caused the inhibition of oxygen evolving activity in PSⅡ. This effect also gave rise to changes in the protein secondary structures of PSⅡ, that is, an increase in α-helical conformation which is compensated by the loss of β-strand structures. It revealed that the head-group of PG molecules plays an important structural role in the maintenance of normal structure of PSⅡ proteins, which is required to maintain the appropriate physiological activity of the PSⅡ complex such as the oxygen evolving activity. It is suggested that there most probably exist hydrogen-bonding interactions between PG molecules and PSⅡ proteins.     

Surface plasmon resonance analysis to evaluate the importance of heparin sulfate groups＇ binding with human aFGF and bFGF

Human acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors (aFGF and bFGF) are classic and well characterized members of the heparin-binding growth factor family. Heparin is generally thought to play an extremely important role in regulating aFGF and bFGF bioactivities through its strong binding with them. In order to unravel the mechanism of the interactions between heparin and FGFs, and evaluate the importance of heparin sulfate groups‘ binding with FGFs, surface plasmon resonance analyses were performed using IAsys Cuvettes System. Heparin and its regioselectively desulfated derivatives were immobilized on the cuvettes, aFGF and bFGF solutions with different concentrations were pipetted into the cuvettes and the progress of the interaction was monitored in real-time by Windows-based software, yielding kinetic and equilibrium constants for these interactions. In addition, in order to reduce the delicate difference among the cuvettes, inhibition analyses of mixture of FGFs and immobilized native heparin by modified heparins were also done. The data from these two methods were similar, indicating that all sulfate groups at 2-0, 6-0 and N- in heparin were required for the binding to aFGF; and that their contribution to the binding was in the order 2-O, N- and 6-O-sulfate group.In contrast, definite contribution of the 6-O-sulfate group to the binding with bFGF was most apparent, while the other two sulfate groups appeared to be necessary in the order 2-O and N-sulfate group. These methods established here can be used for analysing the effect of sulfate groups in heparin on the binding with other human FGF members or other heparin-binding proteins.     

Molecular mechanism of the inhibitory effect of methylation outside the recognition sequence of restriction endonuclease Pvu Π on its cleavage activity

In 1991, we found that methylation outside the PvuⅡ recognition sequence could partially inhibit its cleavage activity. To clarify the molecular mechanism, three plasmids with different methylation states were constructed. Then, together with the original one, four plasmids were digested with different amounts of PvuⅡ. Results show that methylation on both sites results in 90% inhibition; moving the methylated site one base further away decreases the inhibitory effect to about 30%; with the adjacent dam methylation site eliminated, the inhibitory effect disappears. The data suggest that the inhibition of cleavage activity caused by outside methylation is not "all or none", and the degree of inhibition is dependent on the position and the number of methylated bases.     

Relationship among Photosys-tem Ⅱ carbonic anhydrase,extrinsic polypeptides and manganese cluster

Effects of Photosystem Ⅱ (PS Ⅱ) extrinsic polypeptides of oxygen-evolving complex and manganese clusters on PSⅡ carbonic anhydrase (CA) were studied with spinach PSⅡ membranes. The result supported that membrane-bound CA is located in the donor side of PSⅡ. The extrinsic polypeptides played an important role of maintaining CA activity. After removing manganese clusters, oxygen evolution activity was inhibited, but PSⅡ-CA activity was unchanged. It was concluded that CA activity is independent of the presence of manganese clusters, and was not directly correlated with oxygen evolution activity.     

Third-order optical nonlinearities for lanthanum (III) complexes with 1, 10-phenanthroline components

The nonlinear refractive indexesn ₂ for the ethanol solutions of 1, 10-phenanthroline (2.0 × 10⁻³ mol · L⁻¹), [bis(l, 10-phenanthroline) lanthanum (III)] nitrate (1.0 × 10⁻³ mol · L⁻¹), and [nitrato-fluoracil-bis (1, 10_{-phenanthroline}) lanthanum (III) ] nitrate (1.0 × 10⁻³ mol · L⁻¹) are first measured, the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities χ(³) and 〈γ〉 are calculated, and the mechanisms of the third-order optical nonlinearities enhanced by lanthanum (III) are discussed preliminarily.     

Direct determination of trace silicon in lanthanum oxide by using a selective volatility and slurry sampling-FETV-ICP-AES

A new method for determination of trace sillicon in high purity lanthanum oxide by using electrothermal vaporization (ETV)-ICP-AES with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) slurry as a fluorinating reagent has been proposed. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the fluorination reactions of analyte (Si) and matrix(La) with PTFE in the graphite furnace took place at high temperature, and the fractional volatilily between Si and La was observed. Based on this principle the matrix interference could be eliminated. The detection limit of Si was 4.0μg·L⁻¹, and the RSD was 3.4%(C=0.2mg·L⁻¹,n=10). The procedure proposed has been applied successfully to determine trace Si in La₂O₃ without any chemical pre-treatment. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Qin Yongchao: born in Dec. 1953, ph. D., Assciate Professor     

New mechanism revealed for light-state transition in cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis according to 77-K fluorescence kinetics

The mechanisms of oxygen evolution and carbon fixation in oxygenic organisms depend on the equal distribution of excitation energy to photosystems Ⅰ and Ⅱ, which is regulated by a mechanism referred to as light-state transition. In this work, a novel mechanism, energy spillover from PS Ⅰ to PS Ⅱ referred to as "inverse spillover", was revealed besides "mobile phycobilisome (PBS)" and the "spillover" of energy from PS Ⅱ to PS Ⅰ in cyanobacteria. Under continuous illumination with blue light, time-dependent 77-K fluorescence spectra demonstrated heterogeneous kinetics for the PBS and photosystem components, indicating that inverse spillover and mobile PBS work successively to regulate the excitation to a balanced distribution in cyanobacterial cells under blue light. Inverse spillover and mobile PBS occur under both 100 and 300 μmol m-2 s-1 blue-light conditions but they are accelerated under the latter.     

Electrochemical determination of trace amounts of lead (II) and cadmium (II) at a calix[6]arene modified carbon paste electrode

An electrochemical method for the simultaneous determination of lead(II) and Cadmium(II) with a calix[6]arene modified carbon paste electrode (CPE) has been developed. Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ were accumulated at the surface of the modified electrode via formation of chemical complexes with calix[6]arene, and reduced at 1.40 V. During the following anodic potential sweep, reduced lead and cadmium were oxidized, and two well-defined striping peaks appeared at about −0.60 V and −0.84 V. Compared with a bare carbon paste electrode, the calix[6]arene modified CPE greatly improves the sensitivity of determining lead and cadmium. The stripping peak currents change linearly with the concentration of Pb²⁺ 3.0×10⁻⁸–8.0×10⁻⁶ mol·L⁻¹ and with that of Cd²⁺ 6.0×10⁻⁸–1.0×10⁻⁵ mol ·L⁻¹. The detection limits of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ are found to be 8.0×10⁻⁹ mol·L⁻¹ and 2.0×10⁻⁸ mol·L⁻¹, respectively. The modified carbon paste electrode was applied to determine trace levels of lead and cadmium in water samples. Comparing with that of atomic absorption spectrometry, the results suggests that the calix[6]arene modified CPE has great potential for the practical sample analysis. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (60171023) Biography: JI Xiao-bo (1980-), male, Master, research direction: electroanalytical chemistry.     

The presence of phosphorylation form of D1 protein in its cross-linked aggregates in high light treated spinach leaves in vivo

Photosystem Ⅱ (PS Ⅱ ) is a pigment-protein com-plex that catalyses the primary photochemistry leading to oxygen evolution and electron flow in oxygenic phototrophs. The reaction center of PSⅡ is composed of the D1 and D2 proteins to which all the redox…     

Effect of exogenous lanthanum on accumulation of cadmium and its chemical form in Tomatoes

In the condition that soil is polluted by Cd(20 mg·L-1),two varieties of tomato(Lycopersicon esculintum Mill.)(plant high Cd-enriched variety(Yufen109)and plant low Cd-enriched variety(4641))treated with LaCl3 of different concentration(0,10 and 20mg·L-1)were determined for their effect on plant dry weight,anti-oxidase activity(CAT,SOD and POD),tomato fruit Cd chemical form and Cd accumulation.The results show that 10 mg?L-1LaCl3 can increase dry weight of plant at various positions and can reduce the concentration of Cd of different forms.Spraying with LaCl3(10,20 mg·L-1)can reduce Cd concentration in leaves,stems,roots and fruits of tomato plants with lowering rates of 13.7%-31.9%,9.5%-30.6%,10.8%-44.5%and 19.4%-37.0%,respectively.Suitable amount of lanthanum(10 mg·L-1 LaCl3)can increase yield of tomatoes,reduce Cd accumulation in the fruit.In the two tomato varieties,Lanthanum and Cadmium react interactively,expressing to be coexisting of both synergism and antagonistic.     

Investigation of Ru （ phen ）3^2＋-Hydrazine-Ce（Ⅳ） Chemiluminescence System and Its Analytical Application

0 IntroductionThbiep ycroidmipnlee)xru ctahteinoinu mof(Ⅱ r)u t(he Rniuu(mbip,y m)3ai2n +ly) atrnids- t(r2is -,(21’ -,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(Ⅱ) (Ru(phen)32 +) ,is a kindof sensitive analytical reagent for electrogenerated chemilumi-nescence(ECL) and chemiluminescence(CL) ,on which a par-ticular review has been presented[1]. The earliest publicationon the synthesis of Ru(bipy)32 +appeared in 1936[2], andduringthefollowing30 years ,theinvestigations relatedtothissubstance were only in…     

Photodegradation of bisphenol a induced by metal ions in aqueous solution in the presence of ascorbic acid

The photodegradation of bisphenol A (BPA) in aqueous solution containing metal ions and ascorbic acid (AsA) was investigated. After strong irradiation, the aqueous solution containing AsA and Cu²⁺ could produce hydroxyl radicals that induced the photodegradation of BPA. The photodegradation efficiency of BPA in the solution containing 70 μmol·L⁻¹ Cu²⁺ and 15 mg·L⁻¹ AsA reached 59% at pH 6.0 after 4 hours irradiation with high pressure mercury lamp. The photodegradation efficiency of BPA reached 10% after 4 hours irradiation with daylight lamp in the presence of 70 μmol·L⁻¹ Cu²⁺ and 15 mg·L⁻¹ ascorbic acid. BPA was not degraded in the aqueous solution only containing AsA or Cu²⁺. The BPA photodegradation in aqueous solution containing AsA and Fe³⁺ was weaker than in aqueous solution that containing AsA and Cu²⁺ at the same concentration. This work showed a new route of the BPA photodegradation in aqueous environment. Biography: PENG Zhang’e (1970–), female, Ph. D. candidate, research direction: aquatic environmental chemistry.     

Fluorescence Determination of Artemisinin Using Hemoglobin as Catalyst and Pyronine B as Substrate

0 IntroductionMaalnadria siusb atr ompajicosr .he aAltrthe pmrisoibnlienmi (n qtihneghtraoopsiucs,QHS,Fig.1) is a sesquiterpene endoperoxide isola-ted fromArtemisia annuaL., an ancient Chineseherbal medicine usedfor treatment of fever and ma-laria.Studies of the structure and activity relation-ship have shownthat endoperoxide groupis essentialfor anti malarial activity of QHS and absence of thismoiety lead to completely loss in activity of thedrug. Many techniques have been developed to de…     

Trace determination of zirconium using anodic adsorptive voltammetry at a carbon paste electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes

A carbon paste electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes （MWCNT） was prepared and the determination of ultra trace amount of zirconium based on the anodic adsorptive voltammetry of the zirconium-calcium-alizarin red S mix-polynuclear complex is described in this paper for the first time. The results showed that the sensitivity and the selectivity of the method are excellent. The second derivative linear scan voltammograms of the complex were recorded by polarographic analyzer from 200 to 1200 mV （vs. SCE） and it was found that the complex can be adsorbed on the surface of the electrode, yielding a peak at about 840 mV, corresponding to the oxidation of ARS in the complex. The peak current increases linearly with Zr （IV） concentration in the range of 6.0×10^-12--6.0×10^-11 mol. L^-1 （accumulation time 120 s）, 6.0×10^-11--2.0×10^-9 mol. L-1 （accumulation time 90 s） and 2.0×10^-9--1.0×10^-7 mol. L^-1 （accumulation time 60 s） and the detection limit （S/N = 3） is 2.0×10^-12 mol. L^-1 （accumulation time 180 s）. The procedure has been successfully applied to the determination of zirconium in the ore samples.