Structural basis of steroid hormone perception by the receptor kinase BRI1

Polyhydroxylated steroids are regulators of body shape and size in higher organisms. In metazoans, intracellular receptors recognize these molecules. Plants, however, perceive steroids at membranes, using the membrane-integral receptor kinase BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1). Here we report the structure of the Arabidopsis thaliana BRI1 ligand-binding domain, determined by X-ray diffraction at 2.5?? resolution. We find a superhelix of 25 twisted leucine-rich repeats (LRRs), an architecture that is strikingly different from the assembly of LRRs in animal Toll-like receptors. A 70-amino-acid island domain between LRRs 21 and 22 folds back into the interior of the superhelix to create a surface pocket for binding the plant hormone brassinolide. Known loss- and gain-of-function mutations map closely to the hormone-binding site. We propose that steroid binding to BRI1 generates a docking platform for a co-receptor that is required for receptor activation. Our findings provide insight into the activation mechanism of this highly expanded family of plant receptors that have essential roles in hormone, developmental and innate immunity signalling.     

Pulsed UV Laser Modification of Polyester Textile Materials:Effect on Wettability

There has recently been great interest in ablative photodecomposition(APD), notably in pulsed UV laser treatment on polymers, for modification of physical and chemical properties, such as dyeability, printability, adhesion, Iuster and many more. Very little attention was focused, however, on the property of wetting behaviour,which is one of the most fundamental properties in affecting polymer science. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers drawn to two different draw ratios and under two temperatures, and three white knitted polyester fabrics made of 100% PET fibre were used to investigate their wetting behaviour due to excimer laser treatment.Experiments like water contact angle measurement, vertical drop test and moisture regain were conducted upon samples and all results give the same conclusion that laser treatment increases the hydrophobicity of all samples tested. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation reveals how the morphological modification of polymers by laser treatment is correlate     

A retrovirus-like strategy for expression of a fusion protein encoded by yeast transposon Ty1

Eukaryotic transposons such as the Ty element of yeast or the copia-like sequences of Drosophila show structural and functional similarities to both prokaryotic transposons and retroviral proviruses, but the prokaryotic transposons and retroviral proviruses use markedly different expression strategies which yield products having entirely different functions. To determine the phylogenetic relationship between eukaryotic transposons, prokaryotic transposons and retroviruses, we have sought to identify and characterize the proteins encoded by the yeast Ty element and to describe the strategies used to express these proteins. We show here that the yeast transposon produces a fusion protein by a specific frameshifting event that fuses two out-of-phase open reading frames (ORFs). The process is remarkably similar to that used by retroviruses such as Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) to produce Pr180gag-pol.     

Single amino acid substitutions in influenza haemagglutinin change receptor binding specificity

The haemagglutinin (HA) glycoproteins of influenza virus membranes are responsible for binding viruses to cells by interacting with membrane receptor molecules which contain sialic acid (for review see ref. 1). This interaction is known to vary in detailed specificity for different influenza viruses (see, for example, refs 2-4) and we have attempted to identify the sialic acid binding site of the haemagglutinin by comparing the amino acid sequences of haemagglutinins with different binding specificities. We present here evidence that haemagglutinins which differ in recognizing either NeuAc alpha 2 leads to 3Gal- or NeuAc alpha 2 leads to 6Gal- linkages in glycoproteins also differ at amino acid 226 of HA1. This residue is located in a pocket on the distal tip of the molecule, an area previously proposed from considerations of the three-dimensional structure of the haemagglutinin to be involved in receptor binding.     

Monophyletic origin of Lake Victoria cichlid fishes suggested by mitochondrial DNA sequences

Lake Victoria, together with its satellite lakes, harbours roughly 200 endemic forms of cichlid fishes that are classified as 'haplochromines' and yet the lake system is less than a million years old. This 'flock' has attracted attention because of the possibility that it evolved within the lake from one ancestral species and that biologists are thus presented with a case of explosive evolution. Within the past decade, however, morphology has increasingly emphasized the view that the flock may be polyphyletic. We sequenced up to 803 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA from 14 representative Victorian species and 23 additional African species. The flock seems to be monophyletic, and is more akin to that from Lake Malawi than to species from Lake Tanganyika; in addition, it contains less genetic variation than does the human species, and there is virtually no sharing of mitochondrial DNA types among species. These results confirm that the founding event was recent.