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Research has been conducted on the copper-zinc superoxide dismutase. The characterization of the truncated and full-length forms of the yeast copper chaperone for SOD has been carried out.

Cobalt(II)-substituted Limulus polyphemus or CoHcy was characterized via circular dichroism and magnetic circular dichroism. Results of these investigations showed that CoHcy provides proof of the active-site structure of oxyCoHcy which possesses a mu-1,2-peroxo, mu-hydroxo dibridged Co(III) dimer. AquoCoHcy and hydroxoCoHcy were shown to contain a distorted four-coordinate Co(II) site. The spectra of CoHcy was also found to be highly similar to the high-pH spectra of cobalt-substituted carbonic anhydrase.

Abstract Background Filamentous fungi are the most widely used eukaryotic biocatalysts in industrial and chemical applications. Consequently, there is tremendous interest in methodology that can use the power of genetics to develop strains with improved performance. For example, Metarhizium anisopliae is a broad host range entomopathogenic fungus currently under intensive investigation as a biologically based alternative to chemical pesticides. However, it use is limited by the relatively low tolerance of this species to abiotic stresses such as heat, with most strains displaying little to no growth between 35–37°C. In this study, we used a newly developed automated continuous culture method called the Evolugator™, which takes advantage of a natural selection-adaptation strategy, to select for thermotolerant variants of M. anisopliae strain 2575 displaying robust growth at 37°C. Results Over a 4 month time course, 22 cycles of growth and dilution were used to select 2 thermotolerant variants of M. anisopliae. Both variants displayed robust growth at 36.5°C, whereas only one was able to grow at 37°C. Insect bioassays using Melanoplus sanguinipes (grasshoppers) were also performed to determine if thermotolerant variants of M. anisopliae retained entomopathogenicity. Assays confirmed that thermotolerant variants were, indeed, entomopathogenic, albeit with complex alterations in virulence parameters such as lethal dose responses (LD50) and median survival times (ST50). Conclusion We report the experimental evolution of a filamentous fungus via the novel application of a powerful new continuous culture device. This is the first example of using continuous culture to select for complex phenotypes such as thermotolerance. Temperature adapted variants of the insect-pathogenic, filamentous fungus M. anisopliae were isolated and demonstrated to show vigorous growth at a temperature that is inhibitory for the parent strain. Insect virulence assays confirmed that pathogenicity can be retained during the selection process. In principle, this technology can be used to adapt filamentous fungi to virtually any environmental condition including abiotic stress and growth substrate utilization.

A pre-developed heterologous expression system was used to study the progestin and AdipoQ receptor (PAQR) activity which is family of proteins comprising of three distinct structural classes, each with different agonist specificities. The results demonstrated that the human PAQRs from all three classes are antagonized by both 1(S), 2(R)-D-erythro-2-(N-myristoylamino)-1-phenyl-1-propanol, a ceramidase inhibitor and TNF[alpha], a homologue of adiponectin that functions antagonistically to both adiponectin and progesterone in human cells.

The Izh2p protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae belongs to the newly characterized progestin and adipoQ receptor (PAQR) superfamily of receptors whose mechanism of signal transduction is still unknown. Izh2p functions as a receptor for the plant PR-5 defensin osmotin and has pleiotropic effects on cellular biochemistry. One example of this pleiotropy is the Izh2p-dependent repression of FET3, a gene involved in iron-uptake. Although the physiological purpose of FET3 repression by Izh2p is a matter of speculation, it provides a reporter with which to probe the mechanism of signal transduction by this novel class of receptor. Receptors in the PAQR family share sequence similarity with enzymes involved in ceramide metabolism, which led to the hypothesis that sphingolipids are involved in Izh2p-dependent signaling. In this study, we demonstrate that drugs affecting sphingolipid metabolism, such as d-erythro-MAPP and myriocin, inhibit the effect of Izh2p on FET3. We also show that Izh2p causes an increase in steady-state levels of sphingoid base. Moreover, we show that Izh2p-independent increases in sphingoid bases recapitulate the effect of Izh2p on FET3. Finally, our data indicate that the Pkh1p and Pkh2p sphingoid base-sensing kinases are essential components of the Izh2p-dependent signaling pathway. In conclusion, our data indicate that Izh2p produces sphingoid bases and that these bioactive lipids probably function as the second messenger responsible for the effect of Izh2p on FET3.