Structure of the detoxification catalyst mercuric ion reductase from Bacillus sp. strain RC607

Several hundred million tons of toxic mercurials are dispersed in the biosphere. Microbes can detoxify organo-mercurials and mercury salts through sequential action of two enzymes, organomercury lyase and mercuric ion reductase (MerA). The latter, a homodimer with homology to the FAD-dependent disulphide oxidoreductases, catalyses the reaction NADPH + Hg(II)----NADP+ + H+ + Hg(0), one of the very rare enzymic reactions with metal substrates. Human glutathione reductase serves as a reference molecule for FAD-dependent disulphide reductases and between its primary structure and that of MerA from Tn501 (Pseudomonas), Tn21 (Shigella), p1258 (Staphylococcus) and Bacillus, 25-30% of the residues have been conserved. All MerAs have a C-terminal extension about 15 residues long but have very varied N termini. Although the enzyme from Streptomyces lividans has no addition, from Pseudomonas aeruginosa Tn501 and Bacillus sp. strain RC607 it has one and two copies respectively of a domain of 80-85 residues, highly homologous to MerP, the periplasmic component of proteins encoded by the mer operon. These domains can be proteolytically cleaved off without changing the catalytic efficiency. We report here the crystal structure of MerA from the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus sp. strain RC607. Analysis of its complexes with nicotinamide dinucleotide substrates and the inhibitor Cd(II) reveals how limited structural changes enable an enzyme to accept as substrate what used to be a dangerous inhibitor. Knowledge of the mode of mercury ligation is a prerequisite for understanding this unique detoxification mechanism.     

均值不等式的推广及应用

本文对均值不等式在指数方面作了推广,并举例说明本文的推广拓宽了均值不等式的应用,使一些问题简化.     

陈骥《文则》的现代修辞观

陈骏的《文则》是中国历史上第一部谈及文法修辞的专著，其价值是多方面的，本文从陈骏创作实践中运用多种积极辞格阐述相关的修辞理论，以评价他的积极修辞观；《文则》“虽以事出创造，不无瑕疵”，但论及了语法、句法、辞格、文章、风格、文体等多方面内容，初步建立了大修辞学体系，体现了现代修辞学界所倡导的广义修辞观；陈骏虽是对《诗》《书》《礼》《易》《春秋》等静态书面语言的考察，但用动态的辩证的眼光提出了不少真知灼见，体现了动态的辩证的修辞观。     

Structural Changes of Water Molecules Upon the Reduction of Quinones in The Reaction Center from Rhodobactery Sphaeroides

1 Results The photosynthetic bacterial reaction center (RC) is a membrane protein complex.The RC is composed of three protein subunits and redox components such as bacteriochlorophylls, bacteriopheophytins,and quinones.The RC performs the photochemical electron transfer from the bacteriochlorophyll dimer through a series of electron donor and acceptor molecules to a secondary quinone,QB.QB accepts electrons from a primary quinone,QA,in two sequential electron transfer reactions.The second electron trans...