| 1. |
- Richards, Stephen, et al.
(författare)
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The genome of the model beetle and pest Tribolium castaneum.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Nature. - 1476-4687. ; 452:7190, s. 949-55
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tribolium castaneum is a representative of earth’s most numerous eukaryotic order, a powerful model organism for the study of generalized insect development, and also an important pest of stored agricultural products. We describe its genome sequence here. This omnivorous beetle has evolved an ability to interact with a diverse chemical environment as evidenced by large expansions in odorant and gustatory receptors, as well as p450 and other detoxification enzymes. Developmental patterns in Tribolium are more representative of other arthropods than those found in Drosophila, a fact represented in gene content and function. For one, Tribolium has retained more ancestral genes involved in cell-cell communication than Drosophila, and some are expressed in the growth zone crucial for axial elongation in short germ development. Systemic RNAi in T. castaneum appears to use mechanisms distinct from those found in C. elegans, but nevertheless offers similar power for the elucidation of gene function and identification of targets for selective insect control.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Barends, Thomas R. M., et al.
(författare)
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Structure and mechanism of a bacterial light-regulated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 459, s. 1015-1018
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ability to respond to light is crucial for most organisms. BLUF is a recently identified photoreceptor protein domain that senses blue light using a FAD chromophore. BLUF domains are present in various proteins from the Bacteria, Euglenozoa and Fungi. Although structures of single-domain BLUF proteins have been determined, none are available for a BLUF protein containing a functional output domain; the mechanism of light activation in this new class of photoreceptors has thus remained poorly understood. Here we report the biochemical, structural and mechanistic characterization of a full-length, active photoreceptor, BlrP1 (also known as KPN_01598), from Klebsiella pneumoniae. BlrP1 consists of a BLUF sensor domain and a phosphodiesterase EAL output domain which hydrolyses cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP). This ubiquitous second messenger controls motility, biofilm formation, virulence and antibiotic resistance in the Bacteria. Crystal structures of BlrP1 complexed with its substrate and metal ions involved in catalysis or in enzyme inhibition provide a detailed understanding of the mechanism of the EAL-domain c-di-GMP phosphodiesterases. These structures also sketch out a path of light activation of the phosphodiesterase output activity. Photon absorption by the BLUF domain of one subunit of the antiparallel BlrP1 homodimer activates the EAL domain of the second subunit through allosteric communication transmitted through conserved domain-domain interfaces.
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| 4. |
- Bhattacharya, Prosun, et al.
(författare)
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Natural arsenic in the groundwater of the alluvial aquifers of Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina
- 2005
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Ingår i: Natural Arsenic in Groundwater. - London : Balkema. - 041536700X ; , s. 57-65
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Natural occurrences of arsenic has been documented in groundwater of the shallow aquifers of the Chaco-Pampean Plain, Argentina. The distribution of arsenic and mechanisms of its mobilization in the shallow alluvial aquifers was investigated around the city of Santiago del Estero in Northwestern Argentina in order to provide an insight into the complex hydrological and geochemical conditions that yields high As concentrations in groundwater. Significant spatial variations of total arsenic (As-tot) concentrations were observed with an average value of 743 mu g/L. Arsenate was a dominant species in most samples. Average concentrations of Al, Mn, and Fe were 360 mu g/L, 574 mu g/L, and 459 mu g/L, respectively. The 7M HNO3 extraction of sediments and volcanic ash-layer indicated AS(N03) concentrations ranging between 2.5-7.1 mg/kg. AS(N03) indicated a significant positive correlation with Mn-N03, Al-N03, and Fe-N03. Oxalate extractions revealed significant fractions of As (Aso(ox)) in the sediments (0.4-1.4mg/kg) and a dominance of oxalate extractable Al- and Mn. Speciation calculations indicate that Al oxide and hydroxides have the potential to precipitate in the groundwater, suggesting that As adsorption processes may be to some extent controlled by Al oxides and hydroxides. Mobility of As at local scale seems to depend on high pH values, related to the dissolution of carbonates driven by cation exchange, and dissolution of silicates. There is a clear relationship of As with F, V, B and Si, suggesting their common origin in volcanic ash layer. Preliminary conceptual model of arsenic input includes release of As and Al from dissolution of volcanic ash layer, precipitation of Al oxides and hydroxides followed by adsorption of As on Al and Fe phases in sediments, and release of As under high pH conditions.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Chapman, Henry N., et al.
(författare)
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Femtosecond diffractive imaging with a soft-X-ray free-electron laser
- 2006
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Ingår i: Nature Physics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1745-2473 .- 1745-2481. ; 2:12, s. 839-843
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Theory predicts(1-4) that, with an ultrashort and extremely bright coherent X-ray pulse, a single diffraction pattern may be recorded from a large macromolecule, a virus or a cell before the sample explodes and turns into a plasma. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of this principle using the FLASH soft-X-ray free-electron laser. An intense 25 fs, 4 x 10(13) W cm(-2) pulse, containing 10(12) photons at 32 nm wavelength, produced a coherent diffraction pattern from a nanostructured non-periodic object, before destroying it at 60,000 K. A novel X-ray camera assured single-photon detection sensitivity by filtering out parasitic scattering and plasma radiation. The reconstructed image, obtained directly from the coherent pattern by phase retrieval through oversampling(5-9), shows no measurable damage, and is reconstructed at the diffraction-limited resolution. A three-dimensional data set may be assembled from such images when copies of a reproducible sample are exposed to the beam one by one(10).
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| 8. |
- Konrad-Schmolke, Matthias, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Insight into the physico-chemical properties of a subducted slab from garnet zonation patterns (Sesia Zone, Western Alps)
- 2006
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Ingår i: Journal of Petrology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0022-3530 .- 1460-2415. ; 47:11, s. 2123-2148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Garnets in continentally-derived high-pressure (HP) rocks of the Sesia Zone (Western Alps) have three different chemical zonation patterns, depending on sample locality. Comparison of observed garnet zonation patterns with thermodynamically modelled patterns shows that the different patterns are caused by differences in the water content of the subducted rocks during prograde metamorphism. Zonation patterns of garnets from water-saturated host rocks show typical prograde chemical zonations with steadily increasing pyrope content and increasing XMg, together with bell-shaped spessartine patterns. In contrast, garnets from water-undersaturated rocks have more complex zonation patterns with a characteristic decrease in pyrope and XMg between core and inner rim. In some cases, garnets show an abrupt compositional change in core-to-rim profiles, possibly due to water-undersaturation prior to HP metamorphism. Garnets from both water-saturated and water-undersaturated rocks show signs of intervening growth interruptions and core resorption. This growth interruption results from bulk-rock depletion caused by fractional garnet crystallisation. The water content during burial influences significantly the physical properties of the subducted rocks. Due to enhanced garnet crystallisation, water-undersaturated rocks, i.e. those lacking a free fluid phase, become denser than their water-saturated equivalents, facilitating the subduction of continental material. Although water-bearing phases such as phengite and epidote are stable up to eclogite-facies conditions in these rocks, dehydration reactions during subduction are lacking in water-undersaturated rocks up to the transition to the eclogite facies, due to the thermodynamic stability of such hydrous phases at high P-T conditions. Our calculations show that garnet zonation patterns strongly depend on the mineral parageneses stable during garnet growth and that certain co-genetic mineral assemblages cause distinct garnet zonation patterns. This observation enables one to interpret complex garnet growth zonation patterns in terms of garnet-forming reactions and water content during HP metamorphism, as well as to determine detailed P-T paths.
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| 9. |
- Konrad-Schmolke, Matthias, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Thermodynamic modelling of diffusion-controlled garnet growth
- 2005
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Ingår i: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. - 0010-7999 .- 1432-0967. ; 16, s. 181-195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Numerical thermodynamic modelling of mineral composition and modes for specified pressure-temperature paths reveals the strong influence of fractional garnet crystallisation, as well as water fractionation, on garnet growth histories in high pressure rocks. Disequilibrium element incorporation in garnet due to the development of chemical inhomogeneities around porphyroblasts leads to pronounced episodic growth and may even cause growth interruptions. Discontinuous growth, together with pressure- and temperature-dependent changes in garnet chemistry, cause zonation patterns that are indicative of different degrees of disequilibrium element incorporation. Chemical inhomogeneities in the matrix surrounding garnet porphyroblasts strongly affect garnet growth and lead to compositional discontinuities and steep compositional gradients in the garnet zonation pattern. Further, intergranular diffusion-controlled calcium incorporation can lead to a characteristic rise in grossular and spessartine contents at lower metamorphic conditions. The observation that garnet zonation patterns diagnostic of large and small fractionation effects coexist within the same sample suggests that garnet growth is often controlled by small-scale variations in the bulk rock chemistry. Therefore, the spatial distribution of garnet grains and their zonation patterns, together with numerical growth models of garnet zonation patterns, yield information about the processes limiting garnet growth. These processes include intercrystalline element transport and dissolution of pre-existing grains. Discontinuities in garnet growth induced by limited element supply can mask traces of the thermobarometric history of the rock. Therefore, thermodynamic modelling that considers fractional disequilibrium crystallisation is required to interpret compositional garnet zonation in terms of a quantitative pressure and temperature path of the host rock
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| 10. |
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