Ecology: diversity and stability in plant communities

The relationship between species diversity and ecosystem stability is controversial. Tilman et al. analyse biomass patterns over a decade in a grassland experiment with artificial plant communities, and provide evidence for a positive relationship between the number of plant species and the temporal stability of the ecosystem. Here we use data from a long-term biodiversity experiment with plant communities that were not controlled by weeding in order to show that diverse systems can be both stable and unstable.     

Molecular mechanism of anaerobic ammonium oxidation

Two distinct microbial processes, denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), are responsible for the release of fixed nitrogen as dinitrogen gas (N(2)) to the atmosphere. Denitrification has been studied for over 100 years and its intermediates and enzymes are well known. Even though anammox is a key biogeochemical process of equal importance, its molecular mechanism is unknown, but it was proposed to proceed through hydrazine (N(2)H(4)). Here we show that N(2)H(4) is produced from the anammox substrates ammonium and nitrite and that nitric oxide (NO) is the direct precursor of N(2)H(4). We resolved the genes and proteins central to anammox metabolism and purified the key enzymes that catalyse N(2)H(4) synthesis and its oxidation to N(2). These results present a new biochemical reaction forging an N-N bond and fill a lacuna in our understanding of the biochemical synthesis of the N(2) in the atmosphere. Furthermore, they reinforce the role of nitric oxide in the evolution of the nitrogen cycle.     

Genetic variation in DPP6 is associated with susceptibility to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

We identified a SNP in the DPP6 gene that is consistently strongly associated with susceptibility to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in different populations of European ancestry, with an overall P value of 5.04 x 10(-8) in 1,767 cases and 1,916 healthy controls and with an odds ratio of 1.30 (95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.18-1.43). Our finding is the first report of a genome-wide significant association with sporadic ALS and may be a target for future functional studies.     

Loss-of-function mutations in LEMD3 result in osteopoikilosis, Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome and melorheostosis

Osteopoikilosis, Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome (BOS) and melorheostosis are disorders characterized by increased bone density. The occurrence of one or more of these phenotypes in the same individual or family suggests that these entities might be allelic. We collected data from three families in which affected individuals had osteopoikilosis with or without manifestations of BOS or melorheostosis. A genome-wide linkage analysis in these families, followed by the identification of a microdeletion in an unrelated individual with these diseases, allowed us to map the gene that is mutated in osteopoikilosis. All the affected individuals that we investigated were heterozygous with respect to a loss-of-function mutation in LEMD3 (also called MAN1), which encodes an inner nuclear membrane protein. A somatic mutation in the second allele of LEMD3 could not be identified in fibroblasts from affected skin of an individual with BOS and an individual with melorheostosis. XMAN1, the Xenopus laevis ortholog, antagonizes BMP signaling during embryogenesis. In this study, LEMD3 interacted with BMP and activin-TGFbeta receptor-activated Smads and antagonized both signaling pathways in human cells.     

The use of iodinated density gradient media for the isolation of rod outer segments

Sucrose, nycodenz, metrizamide and a mixture of equal volumes of sucrose and metrizamide were used as density gradient media for the isolation of retinal rod outer segments. The high osmolarity of sucrose had a strongly negative effect on the nature of the rod outer segments, whereas they were much better preserved using iodinated density gradient media such as nycodenz and metrizamide for their isolation.     

The copper-transporting capacity of ATP7A mutants associated with Menkes disease is ameliorated by COMMD1 as a result of improved protein expression

Menkes disease (MD) is an X-linked recessive disorder characterized by copper deficiency resulting in a diminished function of copper-dependent enzymes. Most MD patients die in early childhood, although mild forms of MD have also been described. A diversity of mutations in the gene encoding of the Golgi-resident copper-transporting P_1B-type ATPase ATP7A underlies MD. To elucidate the molecular consequences of the ATP7A mutations, various mutations in ATP7A associated with distinct phenotypes of MD (L873R, C1000R, N1304S, and A1362D) were analyzed in detail. All mutants studied displayed changes in protein expression and intracellular localization parallel to a dramatic decline in their copper-transporting capacity compared to ATP7A the wild-type. We restored these observed defects in ATP7A mutant proteins by culturing the cells at 30°C, which improves the quality of protein folding, similar to that which as has recently has been demonstrated for misfolded ATP7B, a copper transporter homologous to ATP7A. Further, the effect of the canine copper toxicosis protein COMMD1 on ATP7A function was examined as COMMD1 has been shown to regulate the proteolysis of ATP7B proteins. Interestingly, in addition to adjusted growth temperature, binding of COMMD1 partially restored the expression, subcellular localization, and copper-exporting activities of the ATP7A mutants. However, no effect of pharmacological chaperones was observed. Together, the presented data might provide a new direction for developing therapies to improve the residual exporting activity of unstable ATP7A mutant proteins, and suggests a potential role for COMMD1 in this process.     

Effects of Chlorophyll Availability on Fluorescence Components of Photosystems in the ORF469-Deletion Mutant of Cyanobacterium

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＩｎｃｙａｎｏｂａｃｔｅｒｉａ ,ｔｗｏ ｐａｔｈｗａｙｓｏｆ ｐｒｏｔｏ ｃｈｌｏｒｏｐｈｙｌｌｉｄｅ (Ｐｃｈｌｉｄｅ)ｒｅｄｕｃｔｉｏｎａｎｄｃｈｌｏｒｏｐｈｙｌｌ(Ｃｈｌ)ｂｉｏｓｙｎｔｈｅｓｉｓａｐｐｅａｒｔｏｅｘｉｓｔ:ｏｎｅｉｓｌｉｇｈｔ ｄｅｐｅｎｄｅｎｔ ,ｔｈｅｏｔｈｅｒｉｓｌｉｇｈｔ ｉｎｄｅｐｅｎｄｅｎｔ[1,2 ] .Ａｔｌｅａｓｔｔｈｒｅｅ ｐｏｌｙｐｅｐｔｉｄｅｓａｒｅｉｎｖｏｌｖｅｄｉｎｔｈｅｌｉｇｈｔ ｉｎｄｅｐｅｎｄｅｎｔｐａｔｈｗａｙ .Ｏｎｅｏｆｔｈｅｓｅｐ…